V 



i 






ESSAYS 



ON THE 



S T TH1 

2©c#t Jmporfent ©ubjectg . 

RELIGION. 



BY THOMAS SCOTT, 

Rector of Aston Sandford, Bucks, Iff Chaplain to the Lock Hospital, London.-— 
Author of the Commentary on the Bible, now publishing in Philadelphia, 



FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRD LONDON EDITION. 



To the Law and to the Testimony: If they speak not according to this 
word, it is because there is no light in them. 

If. viii. 20 



Printed for W. W. WOODWARD, No. 52, corner of 

SECOND AND CHESNUT STREETS^ • 
PHILADELPHIA, 

1806. 



* 









4 



0& , 



TBANSFBB 
, O. PUBLIC LIBBAB* 

SEPT 10,1940^ 



/ 

PREFACE, 




THE original design of this compendious 
work was, in some respects, different from the 
direction it took during the course of its publica- 
tion. The Author intended, by a series of Essays, 
each comprised in a single Number, to have 
guarded the minds of young people especially a- 
gainst the infidelity and scepticism of modern 
times, as well as to give a distinct view of the 
grand peculiarities, and excellent tendency, of 
genuine Christianity. He purposed jiot to be 
strictly methodical, argumentative, or systematic ; 
but to treat a variety of subjects in a familiar, easy, 
and engaging manner. The attempt however 
soon convinced him, that he had not the requisite 
talents for Essays of this description ; and that he 
must leave it to persons of a more versatile and 
happy genius, to, furnish that species of publica- 
tion, which seems most suited to the present cir- 
cumstances, and best adapted to the taste of 
modern readers. 

As however, the Essays first published met 
with great encouragement, and had considerable 
circulation, he proceeded on the plan to which he 
found himself most competent : and, without the 
least previous design, he at length completed, ac- 
cording to his views, a compendious system of the 
Christian religion. 

Since the work was finished in 1 794, it has gen- 
erally been disposed of in complete copies : though 
a large quantity of separate Essays has likewise 
been dispersed ; and it is not without great re- 
luctance that the plan of Numbers has been given 



ii PREFACE. 

up. But the very great advance in the price of 
paper has proved a material impediment : while 
the small type and crowded page of the former 
edition have by many been complained of, not 
only as uncomfortable to the reader, but as a 
real hindrance to the usefulness of the work. 

The improvements in the present edition will, 
it is hoped, be deemed fully adequate to the ad- 
vance in the price. Great pains have been be- 
stowed, in correcting the* inaccuracies of the 
style ; in rendering perspicuous such passages, as 
had been left rather obscure from regard to bre- 
vity ; in giving energy to some arguments which 
had not been stated in their full force ; and in 
placing several illustrations to greater advantage. 
Peculiar care has likewise been taken to render 
the scriptural references and quotations accurate; 
and further proof, from the sacred oracles, has 
frequently been adduced in support of the con- 
clusions which had been formed : a correct In- 
dex for the conveniency of the reader has also 
been annexed. 

The work, thus revised, the Author com- 
mends to the candour of the public, from which, 
it hath already met with a favourable reception : 
and he earnestly begs the prayers of all pious 
Christians, for the divine blessing on this at- 
tempt, and on all his other feeble endeavours 
to spread the knowledge of the blessed gospel 
of God our Saviour ; and to excite and direct 
believers to adorn that holy doctrine by their 
whole conduct and conversation. 

March 29, 1798. 



ERRATA 

In some copies, page 348 line 24, for World read War A 



CONTENTS, 



Essay. Page. 

I. The divine Inspiration of the Holy 

Scriptures, - - - 9 

II. The importance of revealed Truth, 
the duty of reading the Scriptures, 
and the manner in which it mould 

be performed, - 25 

III. The scriptural character of God, - 38 

IV. A brief exposition of the ten com- 
mandments, as comprising the sub- 
stance of the moral law, - - 50 

V. Man's situation, as a sinner, in this 
present world, - - 70 

VI. The Deity of Christ, - - - 83 

VII. The doctrine of our Lord's Deity 
essential to Christianity ; with a 

brief answer to some objections, 101 

VIII. The nature and design of the me- 
diatorial office, sustained by the 

Lord Jesus Christ, - - - 117 

IX. The merits and atonement of Christ, 129 

X. Our Lord's exaltation, and his ap- 
pearance in the presence of God for 

us, - - - - 144 

XI. Justification, - - - - 158 

XII. Regeneration, - - - 174 



cont ents. 

Essay. 



Page. 



XIII. The Personality and Deity of the 
Holy Spirit* with some thoughts on 

the doctrine of the sacred Trinity, - 189 

XIV. The gifts and influences of the 

Holy Spirit, ... . 203 

XV. The uses of the moral Law in sub- 
serviency to the Gospel of Christ, 217 

XVI. The Believer's warfare and ex- 
perience, 230 

XVII. The privileges enjoyed by the 

true believer, - 243 

XVIII. The dispositions and character, 
peculiar to the true believer, - 257 

XIX. The subject continued, - - 270 

XX. The Believer's attention to relative 
duties, - - - - - 287 

XXI. The subject continued, - - 300 

XXII. The Christian's improvement of 

his talents, - - - - 314 

XXIII. Prayer, - / - - 327 

XXIV. Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 340 

XXV. The state of separate spirits ; the 
resurrection of the body; judg- 
ment y and eternity. - 335 



ESSAY I. 

On the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. 

IT is manifeft to all who ferioufly reflet on the 
powers and propenfities of human nature, that we are 
formed capable of religion, and have an inward con- 
fcioufnefs that we ought to worfhip fome fu=,erior Be- 
ing, on whom our fafety and happinefs depend : but at 
the fame time, the (rate of the world, in all places 
where the Bible has not been known, unanfwerably 
proves, that we are incapable of difcovering for our- 
felves a religion, which is worthy of God, fuited to our 
wants, and conducive to our true intereft. The fhort- 
nefs of life alfo, and the reafonable perfuafion that men 
in general entertain of a future ftate, concur to fhew 
that our grand concern lies in another world. Yet un- 
certainty and perplexity, nay, palpable error and abfur- 
dity, have ever encumbered men's reafonings and con- 
jectures on thefe important fubjecls. — Even at Athens, 
Jehovah was Ci the unknown God*," and all beyond 
the grave was an unknown world. 

The wifeft of the Pagans, therefore, confidered a 
revelation from the Deity to be exceedingly defirable, 
in order that bewildered mortals might learn the way, 
in which they could worfhip him with acceptance, and 
be happy ; and fome of them entertained hcpes, that 
fuch an ineftimabie favour would at length be vouch- 
fafed. Indeed confufed expectations of this kind have 
been common in the world ; as it is manifeft from the 
reception that hath been given to pretended revelations, 
which otherwife could not have obtained credit and 
currency. 

* Acts xvii. Z$ 4 
B 



10 On the Divine Inspiration Essay L 

Various impositions, in this important concern, have 
been detected by careful kiveftiganon : and there is but 
one book in the world, which fo much as appears to be 
a revelation from God. This has flood the teft of 
ages, and undergone the molt fevere fcrutiny ; and 
the more it has been examined by ferious enquirers, the 
fuller con vicVion have they obtained of its divine autho- 
rity. No one now ventures forth as an avowed, fober, 
and manly adverfary, to difpute its claim in the open 
field of fair argument : yet few in comparison are prac- 
tically convinced, that it is the unerring word of God ; 
and an increasing number of objectors perplex them- 
felves and others, by difcovering fuppofed inconfiden- 
cies, or unimportant difficulties ; or by fetting up their 
own reafonings and imaginations in opposition to its 
doctrines, and making that difagreerrent a ground of 
behtation or rejection. So that fcepticifm, and a par- 
tial, frivolous, difmgenuouS; carping infidelity, have 
become exceedingly common ; the minds of young per- 
fons especially are poifoned by them ; great pains are 
taken to diiTeminate thefe cavils and objections, (though 
they have been folidly anfwered again and again 5) and 
thofe perfons are treated as weak enthufiaflsj or irrati- 
onal bigots, v. ho (imply believe the Scriptures as the 
fure tedimony of God. 

It may, therefore, be feafonable, to date, with all 
podible brevity, fome of the mod conclufive reafons, 
by which reflecling men have been induced to Tub mi t to 
the authority of the Bible, and to believe that it is a re- 
velation from the God of Truth. By the divine Infpira- 
tion of the Holy Scriptures, I mean, fuch an immediate 
and complete difcovery by the Holy Spirit to the minds 
of the facred penmen, of thofe things which could 
not have been otherwife known ; and fuch an effectual 
fuperintendency, as to thofe matters which they might 
be informed of by other means, as entirely to preferve 
them from error, in every particular, which could in 
the lead: affect any of the docbrines or commandments 
contained in their writings. Every propofition, there- 
fore, is to be confidered as the fure teftimony of God, 
ip that fenfe, according to which the facred penmen 
prcpofed it as truth. Thus facts occurred, and words 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. 1 1 

were fpoken, as to the import of them, and the in- 
fhu£tion to be deduced from them, as they (land re- 
corded ; but we muft judge of thofe fa£ts, or difcourfes, 
by the doctrinal and preceptive parts of the Scriptures : 
nor does it at all invalidate the complete infpiration of 
the facred writers, to allow that they expreffed them- 
felves in common language, and wrote of things as men 
generally fpoke of them •, rather than according to phi- 
lofophical exactnefs, or in the ftyle that was ufed in the 
fchools of the learned, during the ages in which they 
lived. Suppofed or unimportant errors, or inaccuracies 
of exprefilons, in fuch things, are not in the lead in- 
confiilent with that entire divine infpiration of which 
we fpeak ; for the Scriptures were not written to ren 
der us exacl phiJofcphers, or to inftrutl: us in ancient 
hiftory and geography, but to make us wife unto falva- 
tion. Nor do- the few immaterial miftakes, which in a 
lon-7 courfe of years have crept in, through the errors of 
iranfcribers, create any difficulty or uncertainty to the 
humble and teachable enquirer : though they frequently 
give occafion to the felf-fufficient to cavil and object ; 
for the ii Lord taketh the wife in their own craftinefs." 

It is futile and abfurd, for any man to difpute againft 
particular doctrines as unreasonable, to difallow fa£t.s as 
incredible, or to quarrel with the divine difpenfation as 
unrighteous ; when he finds himfelf unable to anfwer 
the plain arguments, which are adduced to prove the 
whole to be the word of God. Where the premifes 
are undeniable, and the deductions unavoidable, obfti- 
nacy and felf-conceit alone will perfiil; in incredulity ; 
and ridicule, reviling, fubtle infmuations, or witty far- 
cafms, are, in fuch a cafe, certain indications of a 
proul and bitter enmity to the truth itfelf. If then the 
arguments, that fhall be adduced, be fufficient to efta- 
blifh the divine authority of the Scripture ; I truft the 
reader will recollect, that, as a reafonable and accoun- 
table creature, he is bound to ftudy, believe, and' -obey 
it \ and to make it the rule and ftandard of afl his prin- 
ciples, affections, and conduct. Thefe things promif- 
ed, I obferve — 

I. That vaft numbers of wife and good men, through 
many generations and in diilant countries, have agreed 



12 On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

in receiving the Bible as a divine revelation. Many of 
them have been noted for ferioufnefs, erudition, pene- 
tration, and impartiality in judging of men and things. 
With much labour and patient inveftigation, they de- 
tected the impoflures by which their cotemporaries were 
duped : yet the fame affiduous examination confirmed 
them in believing the Bible to be the Word of God ; 
and induced them to recommend it, living and dying, 
to all others, as the fource of wifdom, hope, and con- 
folation. In this view, even the tradition of the church 
has much weight : for, whatever abufe has been made 
of the term, by fuch as generally were no part of the 
true church ; yet the whole company of thofe, who have 
worfhipped the living God in fpirit and truth, (includ- 
ing them who ventured and laid down their lives for 
confeience' fake, and who were the moil pious, holy, 
and ufeful men in every age,) having unanimoufly con- 
curred in handing down to us the Scriptures as a divine 
revelation, and having very little differed about the 
books which form a part of that facred depofit, muft be 
allowed to be a confideration of great importance. 
And I cannot but fuppofe, that if a Being of entire im- 
partiality, of found mind, and holy difpofition, mould 
be fhewn the two companies, of thofe who have receiv- 
ed, and of thofe who have rejected, the Scriptures ; and 
mould compare the ferioufnefs, learning, patient invef- 
tigation of truth, folid judgment, holy lives, and com- 
pofure in a dying hour, (without unmanly terror or in- 
decent levity,) of the one company, with the character 
and the conduct of the other ; he would be induced to 
take up the Bible with profound veneration, and the 
ftrongeft prepofleffion in its favour. 

II. The agreement of the facred penmen among 
themfelves is another cogent argument of their divine 
infpiration. Should an equal number of cotemporaries 
of the fame country, education, habits,"profemon, na- 
tural difpofition, and rank in life, concur in writing a 
book on religious fubje£ts as large as the Bible, each 
furnifhing hU proportion without comparing notes to- 
gether ; the attentive reader, whofe mind had been long 
inured to fuch ftudies, would be able to difcover forne 
diverfity of opinion among them. But the penmen of 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. 13 

* the Scripture fucceeded each other, during the term of 
fifteen hundred years : fome of them were princes or 
priefts, others fhepherds and fifhermen, their natural 
abilitie , education, habits, and employments, were 
exceedingly diffimilar ; they wrote laws, hiftory, pro- 
phecy, odes, devotional exerciies, proverbs, parables, 
doctrines, and controverfy j and each man had his dif- 
tin<ft department : yet they all exactly coincide in the 
exhibition the. give u of thAperfe6tions, works, truths, 
and will of God ; of the nature, fituation, and obliga- 
tions of man ; of fin and falvation ; of this world and the 
next ; and in ihort of all things connected with our duty, 
fafety, intereft, and comfort, and in the whole of the 
religion inculcated by them. They all were evidently 
of the fame judgment, aimed to eflabliih the fame prin- 
ciple^, and applied them to the fame practical purpofes. 
Apparent inconMflencies will indeed perplex the fuperii- 
cial reader ; but they will vanilla after a more accurate 
invefligation : nor could ever any charge of difa ree- 
ment, among the penmen of the Bible, be fubflantiated : 
for it can only be faid, that they related the fame facts 
with different circumftances which are perfectly recon- 
cileable ; and that they gave inftrucliions fuited to the 
perfons whom they addrefled, without fyftematically 
fhewing the harmony of them with other parts of divine 
truth. They wrote not by concert, and bellowed no 
pains to avoid the appearance of inconiiftency : yet the 
exa£t coincidence, that is perceived among them by 
the diligent ftudent, is moll aftonifhing, and cannot be 
accounted for on any rational principles, without admit- 
ting that they wrote " as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghoft." * 

To this we may add, that the fcriptural hiftory ac- 
cords, in a wonderful manner, with the molt authentic 
records which remain of the events, cultoms, and man- 
ners of the countries and ages to which it (lands relat- 
ed. The rife and fall of empires, the revolutions that 
have taken place in the world, and the grand outlines of 
chronology, as mentioned or referred to in the Scrip- 
tures, are coincident with thofe Hated by the mofl ap- 
proved ancient writers : whilft the palpable .errors in 
theie refpeds, dete&ed in the apocryphal books, con- 



14 On the Divine Inspiration Essay L 

ftitute one of the moil decifive reafons for rejecting them 
as fpurious. The hiftory of. .the Bible is of far greater 
antiquity than any other records extant in the world ; 
and it is remarkable, that in numerous inftances it (hews 
the real origin of thofe abfurd fables, which difgrace 
and obfcure all other hiftories of thofe remote times £ 
which is no feeble proof, that it was derived from fome 
furer fource of information than human tradition. 

III. The miracles, by which the penmen of the 
Scriptures confirmed their divine million to their co- 
temporaries, afford us alfo a moft convincing proof in 
this matter. The account of thefe miracles may be 
evidently fhewn to have been publifhed, very foon af- 
' ter the time, and at the places, in which they were 
faid to have been wrought in the moft confpicuous man- 
ner, and before vaft multitudes, enemies as well as 
friends : yet this public challenge never called forth 
any man to deny that they were really performed ; nor 
was an attempt of this kind made till long afterwards. 
Can any man of common fenfe, think, that Mofes 
and Aaron could poffibly have perfuadcd the whole na- 
tion of Ifrael, that they had witneffed all the plagues 
of Egypt, pafled through the Red Sea with the waters 
piled on each fide of them, gathered the manna every 
morning, and feen all the wonders recorded in their 
hiftory ; had no fuch events taken place ? If then that 
generation could not be thus impofed on •, when could 
the belief of thefe extraordinary tranfa&ions be palmed 
upon the nation ? Surely, it would have been impoffi- 
ble in the next age, to perfuade them that their fathers 
had feen and experienced fuch wonderful things, when 
they had never before heard a fingle word about them 
in all their lives: and when an appeal muft have been 
made to them, that thefe were things well known among 
them ! What credit could have been obtained to fuch 
a forgery at any fubfequent period? It would have 
been abfolutely necefTary, in making this attempt to 
perfuade the people, that fuch traditions had always 
been current among themj that the memory of them 
had for ages been perpetuated by days and ordinances 
obferved by all the nation ; and that their whole civil 
and religious eftablifhment had thence originated : and 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. 15 

could this have poihbly been effected, if they all had 
known, that no fuch memorials and traditions had ever 
before been heard of among them ? The fame might 
be fhewn concerning the other miracles recorded in 
Scripture, efpecially thofe of Chrifl and his apoftles : 
and it might be madr evident that the man, who de- 
nies them to have been actually performed, muft 
believe more wonderful things without any evidence, 
than thofe which he rejects though eflabliihed by unan- 
fwerable proof. But brevity will only allow me to in- 
fill on one miraculous event, viz. the refurrecfion of 
the Lord Jefus : for this being once proved, the futa- 
ftance of the whole Scripture is evinced to be a divine 
revelation. His doctrine and authority eilablifh the 
authenticity of the Old Teilament : and the witnefles 
of his refurreclion were the penmen of the New Tef- 
tament. 

Almoft all human affairs are conducted by teftimony: 
the concurrence of two or three unexceptionable wit- 
neifes is fufhcient to prove any facl, that is in its own 
nature credible : and the refurreclion of a dead perfon 5 
by Omnipotence, and for the moil important purpofes, 
cannot reafonably -be deemed incredible. The ancient 
prophets had predicted the refurvection of the Median*; 
and indeed every pre-intimation of his glorious and 
perpetual kingdom, when compared with the prophe- 
cies of his fufferings and death, implied that he would 
rife again from the dead. His very enemies knew, that 
he had foretold his own refurrecf ion within three days, 
and they took precautions accordingly : yet the body 
was gone, and they could give no rational account what 
was become of it. They had the whole authority veil- 
ed in them, and their reputation was deeply concerned : 
yet they rather chofe to bear the open charge of the 
bafeil murder and prevarication imaginable, than ex- 
cite any further enquiry, by bringing either the foldiers 
who guarded the fepulchre, or the difciples who were 
faid to have flolen the body, to a public trial ; though 
they had the latter in their cuftody. The eleven apof- 



* Ps. xvi. 10. Isaiah, liii. 10..«li 



1G On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

ties, (to whom a twelfth was foon added,) were a fuf- 
ficient number of competent witneiTes : being men of 
plain fenfe and blameleis lives, they could not but iden- 
tify the perfon of their Mailer, whom they had fo long 
attended ; they unanimoufly teftified, that they had 
received the fulleft affurance of their fenfes to his re- 
furre£tion, and at length beheld him afcend up towards 
heaven, till he was received out of their fight ; and 
they perfifted invariably in this teftimony for m my 
years. They were evidently intim.dated to a great de- 
gree by the crucifixion of their Lord, and backward- 
to credit his refurre£tion j and they could have no 
poflible fecular motives, to invent and propagate fuch 
a report : for ignominy, torture, and death mutt be the 
probable confequences of efpoufing the caufe of one, 
who had been crucified as a deceiver. In all other 
things, they appeared fimple, upright, holy men \ yet, 
if in this they deceived, the world never yet produced 
fuch a company of artful and wicked impoftors : though 
it is evident, they could propofe no fecular advantage 
to themfelves from their deep laid and well conducted 
fchemes ! For they fpent all the reft of their lives in 
promoting the religion of Jefus, renouncing every 
earthly intereft, facing all kinds of oppofition and per- 
fection, bearing contempt and ignominy, prepared ha- 
bitually to feal -their teftimony with their blood ; and 
moft of them actually dying martyrs in the caufe, re- 
commending it with their lateft breath as worthy of 
univerfal acceptation. It is like wife obfervable, that 
when they went forth to preach Chriit as rifen from 
the dead, they were manifeftly changed, in almoft eve- 
ry refpe£t, from what they had before been : their 
timidity gave place to the moft undaunted courage* 
their carnal prejudices vanifhed, their ambitious con- 
tefts ceafed, their narrow views were immenfely ex- 
panded ; and zeal for the honour of their Lord, with 
love to the fouls of men, feems to have engrofled and 
elevated all the powers of their minds. There were 
alfo many other competent witneiTes to this great event, 
even to the number of 500: thefe too concurred in the 
fame teftimony to the end of their lives ; and neither 
fear, hope, or diflenfion among themfelves, induced 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. 17 

fo much as one of them to vary from the teftimony of 
the reft : nay, the very apoftates from Christianity, 
however malignant, never openly charged the apoflles 
with any impofition in this refpecl:. A more complete 
human teftimony to any event cannot even be imagined : 
for if our Lord had (hewn himfelf, " openly to all the 
" people" of the Jews, and their rulers had perfifted 
in rejecting him ; it w r ould have rather weakened 
than confirmed the evidence -, and if they had unani- 
moufly received him as the Meffiah, it might have ex- 
cited in others a fufpicion, that it was a plan concerted 
for aggrandizing the nation. 

But God himfelf was also pleafed to add his own 
teftimony to that of his fervants ; conferring on them 
the gift of the Holy Ghoft, and enabling them to im- 
part the fame miraculous powers to others, by the lay- 
ing on of their hands. Thus the number of witnefTes 
continually increafed, the teftimony was more widely 
diffufed, and no enemy could deny that they^ *.vho at- 
tefted Chrift's refurre£Hon, performed moft ftupendu- 
ous miracles*. In confequence of this, the unlettered, 
unarmed, and defpifed preachers of a crucified and 
rifen Saviour, prevailed againft all the combined power, 
learning, wealth, fuperitition, and wickednefs of the 
world, till Chriftianity was completely eftabiiihed upon 
the ruins of Judaifm and Pagan idolatry ! — Here 
again, it may be demanded, when could the belief of 
fuch fa&s have been obtruded on mankind, if they had 
never happened ? Surely not in the age when they 
were faid to have been witneffed by tens of thoufands, 
who were publicly challenged to deny them if they 
could ! not in any fubfequent age -, for the origin of 
Chriftianity was afcribed to them, and millions muft 
have been perfuaded, that they had always believed 
thofe things, which they had never to that time fo mucr\ 
as heard of ! We may then venture to afTert, that no 
pad event was ever fo fully proved as our Lord's refurrec- 
tion ; and that it would not be half fo prepofterous to 
doubt, whether fuch a man as Julius Caeiar ever exift- 



* Acts iv. 13....16. 



18 On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

ed, as it would be to queftion, whether Jefus actually 
arofe from the dead — What then do they mean, who 
oppofe fome little apparent variations, in the account 
given of this event by the four Evangelifts, (which have 
repeatedly been fhewn capable of arreafy reconciliation ;) 
to fuch an unparalleled complication of evidence that 
it did actually take place ? 

IV. The prophecies contained in the facred Scrip- 
tures, and fulfilling to this day, prove them to be di- 
vinely infpired. Thefe form a fpecies of perpetual mi- 
racles, which challenge the inveitigation of men in 
every age; and which, though overlooked by the care- 
lefs and prejudiced, cannot fail of producing conviction 
proportioned to the attention paid to thern. The pro- 
phecies of the Mefhah, which are found in almoft 
all the books of the Old Teitament, when compared 
with the exact accomplifhment of them, as recorded 
in the authentic writings of the Evangel 'ills, abun- 
dantly prove thern to have been penned under the guid- 
ance of the Holy Spirit: whilft the existence of the 
Jews, as a people differing from all others upon the 
face of the earth, and their regard to thefe writings as 
the facred oracles handed down from their progenitors, 
fufficiently vouch for their antiquity : though further 
proof in abundance is at hand, did brevity allow me to 
infift upon it. According to the predictions of thefe 
books, Nineveh hath been defolated*; Babylon fwept 
with the befom of deftruclionf ; Tyre become a place 
to dry nets vn\ ; Egypt the bafeft of the kingdoms, &c§. 
Thefe and many other events, fulfilling ancient prophe- 
cies fo many ages after they were delivered, can never 
be accounted for ; except by allowing, that He, who 
fees the end from the beginning, thus revealed his fe- 
cret purpofes, that the accomplifhment of thern might 
prove the Scriptures to be his word of inftru£tion to 
mankind. 

In like manner, there are evident predictions inter- 
woven with the writings of almoft every penman of 



* Nahum i, ii, iii. f Isaiah xiii, xiv. 

\ Ezek. xxvi. 4, 5. § Esek. xxix. 14, 15, 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures, 19 

the 'New Teftament, as a divine atteftation to their 
doctrine. The deftruction of jcrufaiem, with all the 
circumftances predicted in the Evangelifts, (an account 
of which may be feen in Jofephus's Hiftory of the 
Jewifh wars j) the feries of ages, during which that 
city hath been <; trodden under foot of the gentiles •," 
the long continued difperfion of the Jews, and the 
converfion of the nations to Chriftianity ; the many 
antichriftian corruptions of the gofpel; the fuperftition, 
uncommanded aufterities, idolatry, tyranny, and per- 
fecution of the Roman hierarchy ; the clivifion of the 
empire into ten kingdoms ; their concurrence during 
many ages to fupport the ufurpations of. the church of 
Rome ; and the exiftence of Chriftianity to this day, 
amidft fo many enemies, who have ufed every poffible 
method to deftroy it ; when diligently compared with 
the predictions of the New Teftament, do not come 
fhort of the fulleft dernonftration which the cafe will 
admit of, that the books, which contain them are the 
unerring word of God. 

V. Only the fcriptures, (and fuch books as make 
them their bafis,) introduce the infinite God fpeaking 
in a manner worthy of himfelf, with fimplicity, majef- 
ty, and authority. His character, as there delineated, 
comprifes all poffible excellence without any intermix- 
ture ; his laws and ordinances accord to his perfections ; 
his works and difpenfations exhibit them ; and all his 
dealings with his creatures bear the ftamp of infinite 
wifdom, power, juftice, purity, truth, goodnefs, and 
mercy, harmonioufiy difpiayed. The defcription there 
given of the ftate of the world, and of human nature, 
widely differs from our ideas of them ; yet facts unan- 
fwerably prove it to be exactly true. The records of 
every "nation., the events of every age, and the hiftory 
of every individual, confute men's felf- flattery in this 
refpect ; and prove that the penmen of the Bible knew 
the human character better, than any philoiopher, an- 
cient or modern ever did. Their account teaches us 
what men are about, and what may be expected from 
them : whilft all who form a different eftimate of 'hu- 
man nature find their principles inapplicable to facts, 
^heir theories incapable of being reduced to practice 



20 On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

and their expectations ftrangely difappointed. The 
Bible, well underftood, enables us to account for thofe 
events, which have appeared inexplicable to men in 
every age : and the more carefully any one watches and 
Scrutinizes, all the motives, intentions, imaginations, 
and defires of his own heart for a length of time; the 
clearer will it appear to him, that the penmen of the 
Scriptures give a far more juft account of his difpofition 
and character, than he could have done himfelf. In 
fhort, man is fuch a being, and the world is in such a 
flats, as they have defcribed : yet multiplied fa&s, con- 
flant observation, and reiterated experience are infuffi- 
cient to convince us of it, till we nrfl Warn it from the 
Bible j and then comparing all that paifes within and 
around us, with what we there read, we become more 
and more acquainted with our own hearts, and efla- 
blifhed in the belief of its divine original. 

The myfteries contained in Scripture rather confirm 
than invalidate this conclusion ; for a pretended revela- 
tion without myftery would confute itfelf. Incom- 
prehenfibility is infeparable from God, and from all rrs 
works, even the moil inconfiderable, as the growth of 
a blade of grafs. The myfteries of the Scriptures are 
fublime, interefling, and useful ; they difplay the di- 
vine perfections, lay a foundation for our hope, and in- 
culcate humility, reverence, love, and -gratitude. What 
is incomprehensible mud be myfterious : but it may be 
intelligible as far as revealed *, and though it conne£fc 
with things above our reafon, it may imply nothing 
contrary to it. So that, in all refpe£ts, the contents 
of the Bible are fuited to convince the Serious enquirer, 
that it is the word of God. 

VI. The tendency of the Scripture conftitutes ano- 
ther unanswerable proof. Did all men believe and obey 
the Bible as a divine revelation, to what conduct, would 
it lead them ? and what would be the effecl on fociety ? 
Surely repentance, and renunciation of ail vice and im- 
morality, when connected with the Spiritual worfhip of 
God in his ordinances, faith in his mercy and truth 
through the mediation of his Son, and all the fruits of 
the Holy Spirit, as vifible in the life of every true be- 
liever, would form fuch characters, and produce fuch 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. C J ' 

effects, as the world hath never yet witneffed. Men 
would then univerfally do juftice, fpeak truth, (hew 
mercy, exercife mutual forgivenefs, follow after peace, 
bridle their appetites and paflions, and lead fober, 
righteous, and godly lives. Murders, wars, bitter con- 
tentions, cruel oppreffions, and unreftrained licentioui- 
nefs, would no more defolaie the world, and fill it with 
mifery : but righteoufnefs, goodnefs, and truth would 
blefs the earth with a felicity exceeding all our prefent 
conceptions. This is, no doubt, the direct tendency 
of the fcriptural doctrines, precepts, motives, and pro- 
mifes : nothing is wanting to remedy the (late of the 
world, and to fit men for the worfhip and felicity or' 
heaven, but that they mould believe and obey the 
Scriptures. And if many enormous crimes have been 
committed under colour of zeal for Chriftianty ; it on- 
ly proves the depravity of man's heart : for the Scrip- 
ture, foberly underftooJ, moft exprefsly forbids fuch 
practices *, and men do not act thus, becaufe they duly 
regard it, but becaufe they will not believe and obey it. 
The tendency of thefe principles is exhibited in the 
characters there delineated : whilft the confiftency be- 
tween the d -clrines and precepts of Scripture, and the 
actions of men recorded in it, implies another argument 
of its divine original. Ungodly men are characterized, 
and their actions are recited, according to the abftract 
account given of human nature, and Delivers are repre- 
sented, as conducting themfelves exactly in that man- 
ner, which the priucip'es of the Bible might have led us 
to expect. They had like paffions with other men ; 
but they were habitually reftrained and regulated by the 
fear and love of God, and by other holy affections. 
Their general conduct was good, but not perfect: ; and 
fometimes their natural pronenefs to evil broke out, and 
made way for bitter repentance and deeper humiliation : 
fo that they appear conftantly to have perceived their 
need of forgivenefs and divine afliftance ; to have ex- 
pected their felicity from the rich mercy of God ; and, 
inftead of abufing that confideration, to have thence de- 
duced motives for gratitude, zeal, patience, meeknefs, 
and love to mankind. 



22 On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

But one character is exhibited, in the fimpleft and 
rnoft unaffected manner, which is perfection itfelf. 
Philofophers, Orators, and Poets, in their feveral ways, 
have bellowed iminenfe pains to dedribe the character 
of fome man, in fuch a manner that no fault could be 
found in it : and they have given us complete models 
of their own eflimate of excellence, and fufficient proof 
that they laboured the point to the utmoft of their abil- 
ity. But the four evangelifts, whofe divine infpiration 
is now frequently doubted on the moil frivolous pre- 
tences, without feeming to think of it, have done that 
which all other writers have failed in. They have 
fhewn us a perfect human character, by recording 
facls, without making any comment on them 5 or (hew- 
ing the ieaft ingenuity in the arrangement of them. 
1 They have given the hiflory of one, whofe fpirit, 
words, and actions were in every particular what they 
ought to have been ! who always did the very thing 
which was proper, and in the bell manner imaginable ! 
who never once deviated from the moil comfummate 
wifdom, purity, benevolence, companion, meeknefs, 
humility, fortitude, patience, piety, zeal, or any other 
excellency ! and who in no inflance let one virtue or 
holy difpofition entrench on another, but exercifed them 
all in entire harmony, and exa& proportion !' — * This 
fubjecl: challenges inveftigation, and fets infidelity at 
defiance ! Either thefe four men exceeded, in genious 
and capacity, all other writers that ever lived ; or they 
wrote under the guidance of divine infpiration : for 
without labour or affection they have performed what 
hath baffled all others, who have fet themfelves pur- 
pofelyto eftablifh it*.' This is a fa£t which cannot be 
denied : no perfect character is elfewhere delineated, 
and probably no mere man could have drawn one ; no 
perfon would have thought of fuch a character as that 
of Jefus *, yet no flaw or fault can be found in it : this 
alone, I apprehend, and their entire coniiflency in this 
refpe«fl with each other, demonflrates that the evan- 
gelifts wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 



* The author's answer to Paine's Age of Reason, p. 8i 



i 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures. 2:3 

It hath often been obferved, that fatan would never 
have influenced men to write the Bible-, for then -he 
would have been divided againft himself: wicked men 
would not have penned a book, which fo awfully con- 
demned their whole conduct : and good men would new 
er have afcribed their own inveftigations to divine in- 
fpiration ; efpecially as fuch forgeries are mod feverely 
reprobated in every part of it. But indeed, it is a work 
as much exceeding every effort of mere men, as the fun 
furraiTes thofe fcanty illuminations, by which his fplen- 
dour is imitated, or his abfence fupplied. 

VII. The actual effects, produced by the Scrip- 
tures, evince their divine original. Thefe are indeed 
far from being equal to their tendency ; becaufe, through 
human depravity, the gofpel is not generally believed 
and obeyed : yet they are very confiderable ; and we 
may afiert that even at prefent there are many thoufands, 
who have been reclaimed from profane and immoral 
courfes to fobriety, equity, truth, and piety, and to a 
good behaviour in relative life, by attending to the fa- 
cred Scriptures. Having been (i made free from fin, 
<f and become the fervants of God, they have their fruit 
« unto holinefs ;" and after « patiently continuing in 
" weL doing," and chearfully bearing various afflictions, 
they j yfuliy meet death, being fupported by the hope 
of eternal life « as the gift of " God through jefus 
Chrift :" whilft they, who befl know them, are 
rroit convinced, that they have been rendered wifer, 
holier, and happier by believing the Bible ; and that 
there is a reality in religion, though various interefts 
and pailions may keep them from duly embracing it. 
There are indeed enthufiaits alfo j but they become fuch, 
by for: airing the old rule of faith and duty, for fome new 
fancy : and there are hypocrites ; but they atteft the 
reality and excellency of religion, by deeming it worth 
their while to counterfeit it. 

VIII- Brevity is fo connected with fulnefs in the 
Scriptures, that they are a treafure of divine knowledge 
which, can never be exhaufted. The things, that are 
al folutely neceiTary to falvation, are few, fimple, and 
obvious to the meaneft capacity, provided it be attended 
by an humble teachable difpofition : but the moil learn- 



24 On the Divine Inspiration Essay I. 

ed, acute, arid diligent fludent cannot in the longeft 
life obtain an entire knowledge of this one volume. 
The deeper he works the mine, the richer and more 
abundant he finds the ore ; new light continually beams 
from this fource -of heavenly knowledge, to direct his 
conduct, and illuftrate the works of God, and the ways 
of men ; and he will at Jaft leave the world confeffing, 
that the more he ftudied the Scriptwres, the fuller con- 
viction he had of his own ignorance and of their inefti-* 
mable value. 

IX. Laftly, " He that believeth hath the witnefs in 
" himfelf." The difcoveries which he hath made by 
the light of the Scripture ; the experience he hath had, 
that the Lord fulfils its promifes to thofe who truft in 
them •, the abiding effects produced by attending to it, 
on his judgment, difpofitions, and affections ; and the 
earnefts of heaven enjoyed by him in communion with 
God, put the matter beyond all doubt : and though 
many believers are not qualified to diipute againft infi- 
dels, they are enabled, through this inward teftimony, 
to obey, and fuffer for, the gofpel : and they can no 
more be convinced by reafonings and objections, that 
men invented the Bible, than they can be perfuaded, 
that men created the fun, whofe light they behold, and 
by whofe beams they are cheared. 

And now, if an obje£tor could fully invalidate one 
half, or two thirds, of thefe arguments, (to which 
many more might eafily be added,) the remainder would 
be abundantly fuflicient — Nay perhaps, any one of them 
fo far decides the queftion ; that were there no other 
proof of the Bible's being the word of God, and a man 
could not reje£t it, without a£ting in oppofition to thofe 
dictates of common fenfe, which dire£t his conduct in 
his fecular affairs — But in reality, I have a confidence 
that not one of thefe proofs can be fairly anfwered •, at 
leaft it has never yet been done : and the combined force 
of the whole is fo great, that the objections, by which 
men cavil againft the truth, only refemble the foaming 
waves dafhing againft. the deep rooted rock, which hath 
for ages defied their unavailing fury. But though thefe 
can effect nothing more ; they may beat off the poor 



Essay I. of the Holy Scriptures, 25 

fhip wrecked mariner, who was about to afcend it, i i 
hopes of deliverance from impending deitruttion. 

The confequences of our prefent conduct, according 
to the Scriptures, are fo vaft, that if there were only 
a bare polfibility of their truth, it would be madnefs to 
run the rifk of rejecting them, for ihe fake of gaining the 
whole world : What then is it, when we have fuch un- 
anfwerable deaionftrations that they are the word of 
God, and cannot reafonably doubt of it for a moment, 
to difobey the commands and neglect the falvation re- 
vealed in it, for the verieft trifle that can be propofed 
to us ! Efpecially, as it maybe {hewn that, (befides the 
eternal confequences,) the firm belief of the Scriptures, 
and that confcientious obedience which true faith al- 
ways produces, will render a man happier in this prefent 
life, even amidfl; trials and felf denying fervices, than 
any other man can be made, by all the pomp, pleasure, 
wealth, power, and honour, which the world can be- 
flow on him ! 



ESSAY II. 

On ihe Importance of Revealed Truth, the Duty 
of Reading the Scriptures, and the Manner in 
which it should be performed. 



x!LS the Bible may be unanfwerably proved to l>e 
the word of God, we mould reafon from it, as from felf- 
evident principles, or demonftrated truths : for " His 
" Teftimony is fure, and giveth wifdom to the fimple." 
Many parts of Scripture accord fo well with the con- 
elufions of our rational powers, when duly exercifed, 
that either they might have been known without revela- 
tion, or elfe men have miftaken the capacity of 'perceiving 

C 2 



'26 On the Importance Essay II. 

truth for that of difcovering it. Hence various contro- 
verfies have arifen about natural religion, which many 
fuppofe to be rather taken for granted, than made known, 
by revelation. But the term is ambiguous : for the word 
natural includes the properties of our hearts, as well as 
the power of our underjlandmgs ; and the fame truths 
which accord to the latter, are often totally oppofite to 
the former. The gentiles might have known' many 
thmgs concerning God and his will, if they had " liked 
" to retain him in their knowledge -," but their aliena- 
tion of heart from him prevailed to keep them in igno- 
rance, or entangle them in error. So thai the religion 
of re af on would exprefs the idea much more intelligibly, 
if any fuch diilinclion be deemed necefTary. 

This, however, is obvious, that many truths and 
precepts which are found in the Bible, have been main- 
tained by perfons who were ignorant of, or rejected, 
that divine revelation, or who chofe not to own then- 
obligations to it : and many others, profeiTmg to receive 
the Scriptures as the word of God, allent to fome truths 
contained in them, -not fo mnch becaufe they are reveal- 
ed, as becaufe they think that they may be proved by 
other arguments ; whereas, they reje£f, negle£t, or ex- 
plain away, thofe doctrines, which are not thus evident 
to their reafon, or level with their capacities. So that 
at lait it comes to this, that they difcard all that is deem- 
ed peculiar to revelation ; and refufe to believe the testi- 
mony of God, if their own reafon will not vouch for 
the truth of what he fays. 

It may indeed be queitioned, whether thofe opinions, 
which men fo confidently magnify as the oracles of rea- 
fon, were not originally without exception borrowed 
from revelation, as ar as there is any truth in them : 
and it is evident, that they cannot poilefs fuificient cer- 
tainty, clearnefs, and authority, to render them effica- 
cious principles of a£tion, except as they are enforced 
by revelation, and its awful fan£tions. And the wild- 
eft enthufiaft never dreamed of a grofler abfurdity, than 
they maintain, who fuppofe that the only wife God hath 
given a revelation to man, confirmed by miracles and 
prophecies, and eftablifhed in the world by the labours 
and fuiTerings of his ferv<mts, and the crucifixion of 



Essay. II. of Revealed Truth, &c. 27 

his well-beloved Son ; and that this revelation at laft is 
found to contain nothing, but what we might have 
known as well without it ! Nay, that it is exprefled in _ 
fuch language, as hath given occafion to thofe, who 
have molt implicitly believed and reverentially obeyed it, 
to maintain fentiments, and adopt practices, erroneous 
and evil in themfelves, and of fatal confequence to 
mankind ! 

We might therefore, have previouily expected that 
a revelation from God mould illuftrate, confirm, and 
enforce fuch things, as feem more level to our natural 
powers : and that it mould make known to us many im- 
portant matters, which we could not have otherwife 
difcovered ; and which would be found exceedingly dif- 
ferent from all our notions and imaginations ; feeing 
that our contracted views and limited capacities are in- 
finitely diftant from the omnifcience of God. So that 
it is moft reafonable to conclude, that the doctrinal 
truths, which more immediately relate to the divine na- 
ture, perfections, providence, and government, the 
invifible and eternal world, and the myfteries of re- 
demption, conftitute by far the moft important-part of 
revelation ; as difcovering to us fuch things " as eye 
" hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have they en- 
" tered into the heart of man •" and yet they are ef- 
fentially connected with our prefent hope, worfhip, and 
duty, and with our future happinefs or mifery. 

He therefore cannot, according to the common ufe 
of language, be called a believer, who only holds thofe 
doctrines, which he deems the dictates of reafon as 
well as of revelation ; whilft he rejects the teftimony 
of God, whenever he deems it imreafonable. And we 
may hence learn what judgment to form of thofe who 
affirm without hefitation that the moral precepts and 
fanctions, with the more evident truths of the Bible, 
are the only important part of it •, that it is of little con- 
fequence what men believe, efpecially concerning thofe 
things which are in any degree myflerious ; and that 
none but narrow bigots, and weak and ignorant people, 
lay any flrefs upon fpeculative opinions. " He that 
" believeth not maketh God a liar j" efpecially he that 
believcth not the teftimony which God hath given of 



28 On the Importance Essay II. 

his Son, and of eternal life bellowed on finners through 
him* : this is the uniform doctrine of Scripture ; and 
to contradict it is equivalent to a total rejection of di- 
vine revelation. Can it be fuppofed that the prophets 
and apoftles were commiilioned, and that the Son of 
God was manifefted in the fleih, died on the crofs, and 
rofe from the dead, merely to inform mankind, that the 
Lord approved honefty, temperance, truth, and kind- 
nefs, and difapproved the contrary vices ? Or that the 
unnumbered teftimonies, which the Scriptures contain, 
to the myfteries of the Divine Nature, the Perfon of 
the Redeemer, the work of Redemption, and the in- 
fluences of the Holy Spirit, may, without criminality, 
be difbelieved, derided, or reviled ; provided men are 
moral in their conduct towards one another ? Or that 
God is equally pleafed with thofe who thus affront his 
veracity, as with them who implicitly fubmit to his 
teaching and credit his teftimony ? If this be the cafe, 
in what does the difference between the infidel and the 
believer confiil ? All, except avowed atheifts, will allow 
the propriety of many precepts, and the truth of fome 
doctrines, coinciding with thofe contained in Scripture : 
but the infidel admits them as the dictates of reafon, 
not as the teftimony of God \ and the pretended be- 
liever rejects all, without hefitation, that appears not 
to accord with the fame ftandard. So that both of 
them believe their own reafonings, " lean to their own 
understandings," and " make God a liar," when his 
teftimony contradicts their felf-confident decisions ! It 
appears, therefore, that the prevailing motion, of the 
comparatively fmall importance, of doctrinal truth, is 
fubverfive of revelation ; and in fact is only a more 
plaufible and more dangerous fpecies of infidelity. 

If we bslieve the Scriptures to have been written by 
infpiration from God, and have any fuitable apprehen- 
fions of his omnifcience, veracity, and perfections ; 
we muft be convinced, that it is the height of arrogance 
for us fhort-fighted erring creatures of yefterday. to 
fpeak of any doctrine contained in them, as falle or 



* Joun, iii. 12....21. 31....36. 1 John, v. 9....12, 



Essay II. of Revealed Truth, hfc. 29 

doubtful, becaufe it is not coincident with our reaion- 
ings or conceptions. Surely, a fmall portion of modef- 
ty and humility might fuince to induce a confeffion, that 
we are more likely to be miftaken than the only wife 
God ! In rejecting his authenticated teftimony, we muft 
either advance our knowledge above his omnifcience, 
impeach his veracity, or deny the Scriptures altogether 
or in part to be his word ; referving to ourfelves the 
infallible determination, what part is of divine authori- 
ty, and what is not ! If, on the other hand, we deem 
any part of the Scriptures, though true, to be of little 
or no importance, or of bad tendency, what do we, 
but affront the infinite wifdom or goodnefs of God, jts 
if He did not know what truths were proper to be re- 
vealed to man ; or as if he purpofeiy difcovered thofe 
matters, which would have been better for mankind 
never to have known ? And feeing it is erident that the 
Lord hath, in the Scriptures, required the belief of 
certain doctrines as abfolutely neceffary to falvation ; to 
infinuate that thefe doctrines are either falfe, doubtful, 
or of no value, muft involve in it the groffeft and moft 
affronting blafphemy imaginable. 

We do not indeed maintain that all the truths of reve- 
lation are of equal importance ; becaufe they are not 
flated in Scripture to be fo ', but none can be wholly 
unimportant, and we are not always competent to de- 
cide upon their comparative value. Some things are 
more obvious than others ; and fuch, as are more hard 
to be underftood, are not fo well adapted to thofe per- 
fons " who are unliable, and unlearned" in the fchool 
of Chrift : yet we are not authorifed to reject, or even 
to doubt, any of them. We may indeed demur as to 
the true interpretation of them, whilft in humble rev- 
erent teachablenefs, we wait for clearer light upon the 
fubjeel: : and we muft remain for fome time in partial 
ignorance or error, becaufe we cannot at once become 
acquainted with all the truths which are revealed to 
faith, even when we have got a difpofition implicitly to 
believe them. There are fome things which relate to 
the very life and effence of religion •, others are rather 
neceffary to our (lability, comfort, and holy condu£l : 
thefe we muft by no means reject, or treat with indif- 



30 On the Importance Essay II. 

ference; but it is polhble, that to the laft, we may be 
miftaken or ignorant about fome of them, and yet be 
found among the heirs of falvation. 

The importance of revealed truth may be (hewn in 
another way ; for it is the feed or principle in the foul, 
whence all inward- and real holinefs proceeds. " Sanc- 
S{ tify them by thy truth, thy word is truth*;'' " be- 
" holding as in a glafs" (narnley in the doctrine of 
Chrift) " the glory of the Lord, we are changed into 
" the fame imagef." " Without controverfy great is 
u the myjlery of Godlinefs, God was manifeft in the flefh. 5 ' 
This do£trine was, in the judgment of the ^poftle, 
€i the great myiteryof Godlinefs :" and indeed all holy 
difpofitions and afFe&ions towards God, all the genuine 
fpiritual worihip, all the willing obedience of filial love, 
and all the chearful acquiefcence in the divine will, and 
afHance on the divine truth and mercy, which have 
been found in the world fince the fall of man, have 
arifen from a proper perception of this great truth, 
and the doctrines connected with it. Spirituality (or 
delight in and fupreme valuation of the holy excellence 
of fpiritual things, and a difpofition to feek pleafure 
and fatisfa&ion in religion,) is intimately connected 
with a believing dependence on the promifcd influences 
of the Holy Spirit : and that view of the worth of the 
foul, the evil of fin, the juftice and mercy of God, 
the vanity of the world, and the believer's obligations 
to a Saviour " who loved him, and redeemed him to 
" God with hio blood," which the doctrine of the 
crofs communicates, is fundamental to deep repentance 
in genuine humility, gratitude, patience, meeknefs, for- 
givenefs of injuries, love of enemies, and other parts 
of the chriftian temper and character. ■ Without this, 
a proud morality, and pharifaical tafic and form of god- 
-finefs, will comprife the fum total of man's religion ; 
except as he is brought under thofe impredions and 
leadings, which will in time influence him to embrace 
" the truth as it is in Jefus." This will appear more 
fully, and be proved more at large in the Tubfequent 



John, xvii. If.... 19 f 2 Cor. iii. 18. iv. 3, 



II 



Essay II. of Revealed Truth, isfc. 31 

effays. The importance of revealed truth, therefore, 
may be evidently perceived, both from the authority of 
Him who fpeaks to us in the Scripture ; the various 
methods he has taken to confirm the words of his fer- 
vants ; and the tendency and efficacy of found doctrine 
to produce fpiritual affections and holy obedience. 

Indeed the doctrines of Scripture may be received 
by a dead faith into the underftanding as true, whilft 
the heart does not embrace them as good ; and then 
they will "be held in unrighteoufnefs." But a real 
and living belief of them is the proper root of true ho- 
linefs. By regeneration the heart is prepared for thus 
receiving the truth, which then becomes the principle 
of progrelhve fanclification : " a whited fepulchre" is 
the emblem of all that can be attained to, where this is 
proudly rejected or treated with indifference : and every 
man's fpirituality, piety, humility, and enlarged, dif- 
interefted, unoftentatious philanthropy, will bear pro- 
portion to the degree in which he knows and cordially 
embraces the great doctrines of the Bible. 

It mull, therefore, be evident, that every perfcn to 
whom the Scriptures are font, ought to ftudy them, and 
get acquainted with their contents. For if God, in 
compaflion to our ignorance and love to our fouls, as 
well as in regard to the honour of his own name and 
government, hath given us a book, penned under the 
infpiration of his Holy Spirit; and if the truths reveal- 
ed in it be of the greater! importance : it muft be moll; 
reafonable, that we (hould bellow pains to acquire the 
knowledge of them. Whether we coniider the Scrip- 
tures, as a revelation which the Lord hath made to us 
of himfelf, that we may know, wcrihip, and glorify 
him ; Gr of his law and government, that w r e may fub- 
mit to and obey him, and learn our true condition as 
finners ; or of his mercy and falvation, that we mav 
find acceptance with him : or of the privileges of his 
children, in this life and that which is to come : in eve- 
ry view of the fubjecl:, the duty of fearching them 
muft be manifeft. Nor can we neglect it, without 
avowing that we defpife the knowledge of God and 
heavenly things ; that we do not defire to ferve our 



32 N On the Importance Essay II. 

frown ; or that we can difcover the way of peace and 
happinefs without inftru&ion. Nothing, therefore, cr;n 
be more expreflive of our ingratitude, rebellion, and 
alienation from God, than the general neglecl: of the 
Bible, which prevails among thofe that profefs to believe 
it to be his word. 

Does He then fpeak from heaven to us finners about 
the way of eternal falvation, and mall we refufe to hear 
his gracious words ? Does He give us a book, to guide 
us to happinefs in this world and for ever, and (hall we 
not ftudy it ? Does he make known to us mortals thofe 
glories which angels adore with unceafing rapture, and 
ihall we turn away with contemptuous averfion ? Hath 
he provided for us finners fuch a redemption, as finlefs 
" angels defire to look into," and (hall we think " the 
u fubjecl: unworthy of notice ? Who can pretend to 
juflify this conducl; ? Yet how much more pains do law- 
yers, phyfkians, and other ftudents, who defire to excel 
in their profeffions, beflow in poring over voluminous 
authors, than men called Chriftians do in fearching the 
Scriptures ! Yea, how many give a decided preference 
to amufing and ingenious trifles, or political difcuflions, 
(not to fay publications fuited to corrupt their principles 
and morals,) above the facred word of God ! They 
would be afhamed not to have read fome admired or 
popular author, though the work perhaps be wholly 
ufelefs, (if not worfe ;) yet they remain, year after 
year, unacquainted with the holy Scriptures ! i( Surely 
" in vain is the word of the Lord given to them j the 
" pen of the fcribes is in vain*." 

It cannot be neceffary, in fuch a compendious eftay, 
to (hew particularly, how the ftudy of the Scriptures 
is inculcated in every part of the facred volume. Let 
the more attentive reader turn to what Mofes fpake to, 
Ifraelf, what the Pialmift teaches!, and Solomon§, and 
what is contained in many pafTages of the New Tefta- 
mentjj. Indeed the apoftles and evangelifts always 
Teafoned from, and appealed to, the Scriptures of the 



* Jer.viii. 3, 9. f Deut.vi. 6... .9. xi. 18, 19. 

\ Psalms, i. xix. cxrx. § Prov. r. 3. ...6. |] John, v. 39,40. 
Acts. Kvii. 11. 2 Tim. iii. 15.,.. 17. 



Essay II, of Revealed Truth, &c, 33 

Old Teftament, and fuppofed the Jews to be acquainted 
with them ; and the penmen of the New allure 'us, 
" thofe things were written, that we might believe that 
" Jeius is theChrilt, the Son- of God •> and that believ- 
" ing we might have life through his name ?*'" 

The cafe then is plain, that our obligation to fearch 
the Scriptures is indifpenfable ; and that it is a duty of 
the greateft importance, Every perfon who allows 
them to be the infallible word of God, muit be con- 
vi£ted in his own confcience of acling in an unreafon- 
able and criminal manner, if he do not diligently ftucty 
them ; and the general neglect of men in this great con- 
cern, manifeftly proves them not to be fully fatisfied 
that the Bible was given by infpiration from God, 
and that it reveals the only way of peace and falvation- 
We do not urge men to believe without evidence : but 
we call upon them humbly and feriouily to examine the 
proofs afforded them that the Scriptures are the word 
of God ; arid then to bellow pains to learn the religion 
contained in them, and to compare the doclrine we pro- 
pofe, with that unerring ftandard from which we pro- 
fefs to have learned it. Nor can we doubt, but they 
who will not comply with fuch requifitions will be left 
without excufe at the day of final retribution, whatever 
excufes or pretences they may make at prefent. It may 
therefore be ufeful to give a few directions to thofe who 
are convinced of their duty in this particular ; and de- 
fire to attend to it w'kh profit to themfelves, or thofe 
placed under their care. 

I. Examine the whole of the faired Scriptures. I do 
not mean, that the fame degree of attention and time 
{hould be employed about every part of the Bible : fome 
things are but more remotely ufeful to us ; fome are cafi- 
ly underftood and applied j ; others require more clofe 
and frequent inveftigation ; whi'lft the cbfcurity of fome 
paflages (efpecially to unlearned readers,) renders them 
lefs adapted to edification. Yet every part of the fa* 
cred oracles has its ufe, and throws light upon the reft \ 
and as preachers very properly make their appeal to the 



* John, xx. 31. 
D 



34 On the Importance Essay II. 

Scriptures in fupport of the ir doctrines ; fo the hearers 
cannot well judge how far their arguments are conclu- 
five, unlefs they have a competent acquaintance with 
the whole of them. Nor is the Bible fo large a book, 
but that even they who have not, much le.fure, may, in 
procefs of time, get a general knowledge of it in every 
part ; if they bellow a meafure of diligence proportion- 
ed to the value of the acquifition : and as " all Scrip- 
" ture is given by infpiration from God, and is profit- 
" able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
" inftru&ion in righteoufnefs ; that the man of God 
" may be perfect, thoroughly furnifhed unto all good 
" works :" fo every word demands a meafure of our at- 
tention. It is, therefore, a very great hindrance to 
edification, when ferious perfons reft fatisfied with text- 
books, and abitra£r.s from Scripture, or with a few fa- 
vourite paifages that are continually reforted to, whiift 
the reft of God's word is little regarded ; and above 
all thofe parts are neglected, which teach men the par- 
ticulars of the chriftian temper, and of thole duties in 
which they are moll deficient. 

It hath been found very ufeful by many, to divide the 
Bible into two or three parts, and to read a portion from 
each of them in order, in the morning, at noon, and 
in the evening, as people have leifure and opportunity i 
allowing a larger meafure of time to the New Tefta- 
ment, or devotional parts of the Old ; and reading thefe 
wholly, or principally, on the Lord's day, or other fea- 
fons let apart for religion. This, in a few years, will 
bring a man familiarly acquainted with the whole Scrip- 
tures. And though finging the praifes of God very 
properly forms a part of family worfhip, where both 
can be attended to : yet reading the Scriptures in courfe, 
(with a few exceptions, at the difcretion of him who 
officiates,) feems a moil valuable method of preparing 
the minds of children and fervants for profiting by pub- 
lic inftruction, as well as for giving them a comprehen- 
iive view of our holy religion. 

It is alfo very advantageous to minifters, and others 
who have much leifure, to vary their method of read- 
ing : at fome times going through a larger portion, with 
a more general regard to the fcope of the facred writer ; 



Essay II. of Revealed Truth, &e. 35 

at others minutely examining every word and fentence 
in a fmaller portion, its connection with the context, 
and its coincidence with other Scriptures ; and to mark 
well the harmony and mutual fubferviency of every 
part of divine truth; the proportion of one part to an- 
other; the diftin£r. parts of which the whole ' con fills t 
and the way in which the feveral fubje&s are ftated, 
handled, arranged, and exprefTed. 

II. Search the Scriptures daily. Divine truth is the 
food of the foul, which wants its nourimment as often 
as the body does. That day mud have been mifpent, in 
which no part of the Scriptures has been read or medi- 
tated on : we fhould therefore redeem time from .indo- 
lence, recreation, ufelefs vifits, trifling converfation, 
and inordinate attention to fecular affairs, for this em- 
ployment : and then no lawful bufmefs would prevent 
any one from finding a little leifure, morning and even- 
ing at lead, for reading fome portion of the Scriptures ; 
which would furnifh the mind with fubjeds for medita- 
tion when not neceffarily engroffed about other matters, 

* to the exclufion of vain thoughts and polluting imagina- 
tions. The more {iabitual this practice becomes, the 
greater pleafure wj-fl it afford; and even the old Chris- 
tian will not think that his knowled ge renders it fuper- 
fluous, or feek an excufe for omitting it; but will 
apply to it, as a healthful perfon craves and relifhes his 
food. I would efpecial'y enforce it upon the confciences 
of the young, not to let any day begin or end, without 
reading carefully a portion of Scripture : this will be- 
come in a fhort time a mofl ufeful habit ; and if they 
be abridged of a little fleep by this means, their bodies 
will not be injured, and their minds will be improved 
by it. It may alfo be obferved, that hearing fermons* 
reading religious books, or joining in pious difcourfe, 
will often miflead, and feldom profit, thofe who do 
not compare the whole with the facred Scriptures, by 
" daily fearching them, to know whether things are fd 
" or no." 

III. Read the Bible with the exprefs purpofe of appro- 
priating the information communicated by it from God to 
man. When we have humbly and attentively confider- 
ed and ascertained the meaning of any propofition ; we 



36 On tha Importance Essay II. 

fhould implicitly believe it, how contrary foever it may 
be to our former opinion, or that of others in reputa- 
tion for wifdom. We ought to reverence the authority, 
omnifcience, veracity, and faithfulnefs of the Lord, 
who ipeaks to us in his word : not doubting the truth 
or importance of any of his inftru&ions, but ftudying 
the meaning of them in docility and patience. Thus 
imbibing wifdom and knowledge from their fource, 
through the appointed medium, we fhall grow more 
learned in divine things, than any teachers or aged flu- 
dents who lean to their own underftandings* : even as 
the bofom friend of the prince, who learns his fecrets 
from -his own lips, will know more of his defigns, than 
any conjectural politicians can do ; though their fagaci- 
ty and abilities be far fuperior to his. 

IV. life helps in fear chin g the Scriptures, but not de- 
pend on them. The labours of thofe pious men who 
have fpent their lives in ftudying and elucidating the 
facred oracles, may be very profitable to thofe who 
either have lefs leifure or ability, or who are newly en- 
gaged in fuch refearches ; as an experienced guide may * 
be to thofe who are ftrangers to the road : and it favours 
greatly of felf-fufficiency to undervalue either commen- 
tators, or other writers on divine things. Yet all men 
are fallible, and we fhould call no man teacher upon 
earth : it muft therefore, be proper to compare all their 
elucidations, or inferences, with the Scriptures them- 
felves. Above all it behoves us " to afk wifdom of 
God ;" and to beg of him to give us the Holy Spirit, 
to remove from our minds every prejudice and carnal 
affedKon, and whatever may clofe them againfl any 
part of revealed truth, or indifpofe them to receive the 
illumination of heaven, (as the vitiated eye cannot make 
a proper ufe of the light of the fun.) He alone who 
infpired the fcriptures, can help us to understand them : 
and if we fearch them, in dependence on, and prayer 
for, his teaching. He will lead us into all truth, as far 
as our fafety, peace, and duty require it. — It may be 
proper here to caution the reader again ft fanciful inter- 

* Ps. cxix. 98...,! 00. 



Essay II. of Revealed Truth, &c. 37 

pretations, which furprifeand amufe, but miflead men 
from the practical meaning of fcripture : and-againft 
thofe who pretend to modernize divine truth 5 not chu- 
fing to " fpeak according to the oracles of God," but 
as they fuppofe the apoftles would have done, if they 
had pofTeffed the advantage of modern improvements : 
a fuppofition juft as wife, as to attempt improving the 
light of the fun by aftronomy ! In ihort, every text has 
its proper meaning as it ftands related to the context ; 
and its proper application to us : thefe we mould fe- 
rioufly inveitigate, with fervent prayer for divine teach- 
ing j without prefuming to add to, alter, or deduct, 
from the revealed will of God*. 

Laftly, we mould fearch the fcriptu^es as the naviga- 
tor confults his chart, and makes his observations ; that 
he may difcover where he is, and what courfe he muil 
fteer : or as any one looks into a glafs, that he may both 
know what manner of man he is, and learn to adjuft 
what is unbecoming : or as an heir reads his father's 
will, and the inventory of his effects and eftates, that 
he may know what the inheritance is, and the nature of 
the tenure by which he muflpoflefs it. We mould accom- 
pany our reading with impartial felf-examination; both in. 
refpect of our knowledge, judgment, difpofitions, mo- 
tives, affections words, and actions, in every particular, 
at prefenj, and in times paft : that we may learn the 
ftate and want of our fouls ', and with felf-application, 
as the perfons fpoken to, in every inftru&ion, precept, 
fanftion, counfel, warning, invitation, or promife, ac- 
cording to our (late, character, conduct, and circum- 
ftances : paufing to enquire, whether we have under- 
Hood what we have read, and what we have learned 
from it; that, befeeching the Lord to pardon what is 
pad, and to help us for the future, we may, without 
delay or referve, begin to pra£Hfe what we know, wait- 
ing for further light in fuch matters as (till continue 
doubtful or obfcure to us. — It would be eafy to multi- 
ply directions, but the fcriptures thus ftudied are " able 
" to make us wife unto falvation, by faith " in lefus 
« Chriit." J 



* Deut. xxix. 29. 
D z 



ESSAY III. 

On the Scriptural Character of God. 

7<f*»~f ===== ^*^4-$ 

JtLVERY attentive and intelligent ftudent of the 
Bible will perceive, that revelation was vouchfafed to 
man, in order to deliver or preferve him from idolatry, 
by inftru£tmg him in the character and perfections of 
the one living and true God, and the way in which He 
would be worshipped ; as well as to teach other duties, 
and to influencftiim to perform them. The jealous 
care of Jehovah to diftinguifh between himfelf and 
every idol, and to fecure the glory to himfejf without 
allowing any of it to be given to another j with the ter« 
ruble denunciations pronounced againfl idolaters and 
the fevere judgments executed upon them, mull attract 
the notice of all who are converfant with the facred 
oracles, and convince every impartial perfon that idola- 
try is the greater! of all fins, atheifm alone excepted. 

Yet in this, as in other things, the " wifdom of man 
« which is foolifhnefs with God," has led numbers to 
adc pt a contrary opinion : fo that, whilft an elegant and 
admired poet hath employed his fafcinating ingenuity to 
perfuade mankind, that God is worihipped with equal 
acceptance u by faint, by favage, and by fage," or 
whether he be called "Jehovah, Jove, or Lord*," (which 
in this connection may fignify Baal :) it is alfo become 
a falhionable principle of modern rational divinity, that 
all fuch diftin&ions are immaterial, and all religions 
very much alike, if men be fincere in their way. In- 
deed numbers feem to think what they call bigotry^ though 
wholly free from intolerance or perfecution, to be worfe 
than any mental errors even in refp*£t of the object of 
Religious wormip ! and that candour and liberality of 
fentiment are more important virtues, than the fu- 
preme love and fpiritual adoration of Jehovah, as dif- 
tinguilhed from all falfe gods ! 

* Pope's Universal Prayer. 



Essay III. On the Char after of God. 39 

But who does not perceive, that this principle> if car- 
ried to its obvious confequences, amounts to a rejection 
of the Bible, or at leaft puts it on the fame footing 
with Hefiod's Theogonia, or the Korai- ? Who can 
avoid feeing, that it imputes bigotry and a contracted 
mind to the prophets and apoftles, and to every approv- 
ed character of holy writ, without excepting that of 
our Lord himfelf ? Nay, will it not follow from it, that 
Jehovah wrought many ftupendous miracles to no man- 
ner of purpofe ? For we muft not only enquire, why 
Mofes was fo careful to diftinguifh the God of Ifrael 
from the idols of Egypt, and of the nations ? or what 
induced David to expecl: afHftance in meeting Goliah, 
who defpifed the armies of Jehovah, «« that all he earth 
" might know that there was a God in Ifrael* ?■' or on 
what account Elijah was fo earned to determine wheth r 
er the Lord or Baal were the true God-)*? But we 
muft alfo demand, why He anfwered their expectation^ 
and prayers by miraculous interpofitions, if the point to 
be decided were of little or no importance. 

When the God of Hezekiah delivered him from the 
power of the Affyrians, by the flaughter of 185,000 
men ; whilft Sennacherib was flain by his own fons in 
the houfe and woifhip u of Nifroch his god " the dis- 
tinction between Jehovah and every idol was ftrongly 
marked. Thefe are a few, out of very numerous in- 
ftances and proofs, which might be adduced from 
Scripture, to confirm this point •, and if duly regarded, 
would be abundantly fufficient for the purpofe When 
our Lord told the woman of Samaria that her nation 
" knew not what they worfhipped for faJvation was 
" of the Jews:}: -," when Paul propofed to declare unto 
the polite and philosophical Athenians that ic unknown 
u God, whom they ignorantly worfhipped," and to 
•diftinguifh the Creator and Judge of the world from all 
their idols§ ; and when he informed the Corinthians 
that their idol facriiices were offered unto devils, and 
not to God || : they plainly (hewed, that fuch candour, 
as is now contended for, was no part of their plan, but 
abfolutely incompatible with it. 

* 1 bam. xv i. 45...4Z. f 1 Kings xviii. } 1 John iv. 22—24. 
§ Aclsxvii. 23—31. jj Cor. x. 20. 



40 On the Scriptural Essay III. 

Indeed the Apoftle has informed us, that idolatry 
originated from men's averfion to God ; " they liked 
*< not to retain him in their knowledge*." His holy 
chara&er and fpiritual fervice fuited not with their car- 
nal minds : and therefore deities were invented of 
another fort, and a worfhip coincident with their cor- 
rupt inclinations was devifed. When we confider how 
Chriflian feflivals are generally celebrated we mall ceafe 
to wonder, that Ifrael preferred the golden calf to Jeho- 
vah, and joyfully " fat down to eat and drink, and rofe 
" up to play," inftead of attending the facred ordinances 
of the living God : and a competent knowledge of hu- 
man nature will enable us without difficulty, to account 
for the predilection, which that people ever manifeiled 
for the gods of the nations, and their jovial and licenti- 
ous rites. For the religion of the gentiles, inftead of 
producing any falutary effect on their conduct, led them 
to praclife the grofTeft enormities •, not only without re- 
morfe, but in order to appeafe or find acceptance with 
their deities •, and thus it tended to corrupt both their 
principles and morals. No doubt, the great enemy of 
God and man, both from ambition of engromng the 
worship of idolaters, and from the malignity of his na- 
ture, aided their invention, in forming the characters 
and imagining the exploits of their deities, partly in re- 
femblance to his own abominable propensities, and part- 
ly according to the worfl vices of mankind : that fo the 
raoft deftru£tive crimes might be Sanctioned, and the 
vileft affections, as it were, confecrated, by conformity 
to the objects of their worlhip. No wonder that they 
were ferocious in war, and debauched in their general 
conduit •, when their religious observances comprifed 
the moil favage cruelties, the moil fhamelefs licentiouf- 
nefs, and the greatefl exceffes of intemperance ! and 
when at lad they could not equal, in thefe refpects, the 
gods whom they had invented for themfelves ! 

If religion be fuppofed to produce any efrecr on the 
conduct of mankind, every perfon of common fenfe 
mull allow, that the character and actions afcribed to 
the object of worfhip must be of the greateil poffible 

* Rom. i. 18....23. 28. 



Essay III. Charader of God. 41 

importance : for -as thefe are, fo will the Jincere worfhip- 
per be To pleafe, to referable, to imitate the object of 
adoration, muft be the fuprtme aim and ambition of 
evf ry devotee, whether of Jupiter, Mars, Bacchus, 
'Venus Moloch, or Mammon ; as well as of every 
fpiritual worfhipper of Jehovah : and we might there- 
fore know what to expect from any man, if we were 
acquainted with his fentiments concerning the God that 
he adores ; provided we could afcerta : n the degree, in 
which he was fincere and earnejl in his religion. It 
would have been abfurd to expect much honelly from 
him, who devotedly worshipped Mercury as the god of 
thieving ; much mercy from a devotee of Moloch \ love 
of peace from the worfhipper of Mars \ or chaftity from 
the prieflefs of Venus : and, whatever fpeculators may 
imagine, both the Scriptures and profane hiftory, (ancient 
and modern,) mew that the bulk of mankind in heathen 
nations were far more fincere in their abfurd idolatries, 
and more influenced by them, than profefTed Christians 
are by the Bible *, becaufe they were more congenial to 
corrupt nature. It is likewife a fact, that immenfe mul- 
titudes of human faenfices are, at this day, annually of- 
fered according to the rules of a dark fuperftition ; and 
various other flagrant immoralities functioned by religion, 
among thofe idolaters, who have been erroneoufly con- 
fidered as the mod inoffenfive of the human race. — But 
thefe effects on the moral character of mankind are not 
peculiar to grofs idolatry : if men fancy that they worihip 
the true God alone, and yet form a wrong notion of his 
character and perfections ; they only fubllitute a more 
refined idolatry in the place of Paganifm, and worfhip 
the creature of their own imagination, though not the 
work of their own hands : for in what doth fuch an ideal 
Being, though called Jehovah, differ from that called 
Jupter or Baal ? The character afpribed to him may in- 
deed come nearer the truth than the other, and the de- 
lufion may be more refined : but if it eflentially differ 
from the fcriptural character of God, the effect muft be 
the fane, in a meafure, as to thofe who earneftly defire 
to imitate, refemble, and pleafe the object of their a-^ 
doration. 



42 On the Scriptural Essay III. 

When finful men prefume to delineate the character 
of' God for*themfelves, however learned or fagacious 
they may be, their reafons will inevitably be warped by 
the general depravity of fallen nature, and by their own 
peculiar prejudices and vices. Partial to their own char- 
acter, and indulgent to their mafter-paffion, (which per- 
haps they miftake for an excellency,) they will naturally 
afcribe to the Deity what they value in themfelves, and 
fuppofe him lenient to fuch things as they indulge and 
excufe : they will be fure to arrange their plan in fuch a 
manner, as to conclude themfelves the objects of his com- 
placency, and entitled to his favour ; or at leaft not de- 
serving his abhorrence, and expofed to his avenging juf- 
tice : they will conlider their own judgment of what is 
fit and right, as the meafure and rule of his government : 
their religious worfhip will accord to fuch miftaken con- 
clusions j and the effect of their faith upon their conduct 
will either be inconsiderable, or prejudicial. Thus men 
« think that God is altogether fuch a one as themfelves*/* 
and a felf- flattering carnalized religion is fubfttuted for 
the humbling, holy, and fpiritual gofpel of Chriit. 

The different ideas which men form of God, whifft 
the fcriptural character of him is overlooked, refult from 
the various difpoiitions and propeniities, which they de- 
rive from conftitution, education, and habit. The volup- 
tuary will imagine, (with a certain diiTolute monarch ;f) 
that * God will not damn a man for taking a little pleas- 
ure in an irregular manner:' nor can the ambitious war- 
rior, or covetous oppreffor, be convinced, that the Su- 
preme B j ing will demand a itrict account of all the blood, 
ftied, or the injuftice committed, in their respective pur- 
fuits. The fpeculating philofopher may imagine a Deity 
too dignified to notice the conduct, or too clement to 
punifh the crimes of puny mortals ; at leaft he will deem 
him very favourable to the felf-wlfe, and fuch as are fu- 
perior to vulgar prejudices, whatever he may do in re- 
fpect to debauchees, and fanguinary tyrants. Thus men's 
ideas of God are framed according to their own prevail- 
ing propenfities : and then thofe ideas of Him reciprocal- 
ly tend to form their characters, and influence their con- 

* Ps. 1. 21. t Charles II. 



Essay III. Character of God* 4& 

due"!, both in refpect of religious duties and in the common 
concerns of life. 

Thefe obfervations fuffice to (hew us the reafon, why 
" the world by wifdom knew not God j" and to prove, 
that it is impoflible in the very nature of things for a 
fallen creature to know him, except by revelation, and 
by faith appropriating the inftru&ion thus vouchfafed : 
for felf-love and carnal affections will fo bias the mind, 
as to defeat the delign of the moft patient inveltigation, 
and to deduce erroneous conclufions from the moil accu- 
rate and apparently moft impartial reafonings upon this 
Subject *, except as they are conducted with a confiant 
regard to the revelation which God hath made of himfelf. 

Thus the Jews knew not the God they zealouily wor- 
ihipped : they totally miftook his character, and there- 
fore defpiied and rejected " the effulgen y of his glo- 
" ry," and the exprefs Image of his invifible perfection \ 
and they hated and perSecuted, mojl conscientioujly, his 
fpiritual worShippers*. Would we then know God, 
in a faving and Sanctifying mannerf, we mull; not 
" lean to our own imderltandings," nor f c trull in our 
" own hearts ;" we mull not re-ort to the fchools, or lit 
at the feet, of renowned philosophers, ancient or mo- 
dern: but we mull apply to the word of God himfelf, 
that we may thence learn, in humble teachableness and 
implicit faith, what we ought to think of his perfec- 
tions, and the glory and harmony of them : remember- 
ing that " his teilimony is fure, and giveth wifdom to 
" the Simple :" and likewiSe, « J that no man knoweth 
" the Father, Save the Son, and he to whomsoever 
" the Son will reveal him J ;" 

If then we carefully " Search the Scriptures," we 
mali find that this Subject conltitutes a principal part of 
their contents ', and that the Lord makes himfelf known 
to us in two ways. i. By exprefs declarations: — and 
2. By his works and difpenfations, as illustrating and 
exemplifying his declarations. A few hints on each of 



* John, viii, 54, 55. xv. 21....24. xv^. 3. 
f John, xvii. 3. 2 Cor. iii. 18. iv. 3. ...6. 
$ Matt. xi. 25....3Q. 



44 On the Scriptural Essay III. 

thefe will ccnftitute the remaining part of this effay ; 
it being chiefly intended to affift the ferious ftudent of 
the Scriptures, in profitably confidering this important 
fubje£t., as he proceeds with his daily refearches. 

I. We confider the Lord's exprefs declarations con- 
cerning himfeif. There is a majefly in the paffages of 
holy writ, that relate to the natural perfections of God, 
which vaflly exceeds whatever is admired as fublime in 
Pagan writers. Jehovah fpeaks of himfeif, « as the 
" high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity. " 
i( Heaven is his throne, and the earth his footftool." 
" The heaven of heavens cannot contain him." " All 
" nations before Him are as nothing •, they are counted 
" to him as lefs than nothing, and vanity." " From 
" everlafting to everlafling he is God ;" " the Almighty, 
" the All-fufncient God." " His wifdom i; infinite." 
" There is no fearching of his underflanding :" " He 
" knoweth all things." u He fearcheth the hearts of all 
M the children of men •, yea knoweth their thoughts afar 
i( off." " There is no fleeing from his prefence." 
" The light and darknefs to him are both alike." •« He 
i( dwelleth in light inacceflible, no man hath feen or can 
w fee him." " He doeth what he will in the armies of hea- 
" ven, and among the inhabitants of the earth." " His 
" i-: the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever*/' 
" He is molt bleffed for evermore ;" " for with him is 
" no viriablenefs or fhadow of turning." Thefe, and 
numberlefs other declarations, exprefsly and emphatical- 
ly afcribe eternity, felf-exiftence, omniprefence, om- 
nipotence, omnifcience, immutability, incomprehenfi- 
ble greatnefsand majefly, and effentiaf felicity and glory 
in full perfection to the Lord our God. 

But in thisrefpecl the inftru£Hons of Scripture do not 
(o materially differ from the deductions of man's reafon 
on this fubje£t, or at leail from what it approves and al- 
lows : and it is principally to be obferved, that fuch an 
infinite Agent can, with mod per feci: eafe, fupermteud 
the affairs, whether vafl or minute, of the univerfe : 
whereas fome philofophers have fuppo r ed, that fuch an 
attention would, be either a degradation or an encum- 
brance to him •, thus virtually afcribing to him irr.per- 
fe^ion, and attempti sg to deprive him of his tlr.one, 
as if he were not qualified to fill it ! — But indeed infinite 



Essay III. Char after of God. &S 

power, knowledge, and greatnefs, if they could fubfift 
without infinite truth, juitice, and goodnefs, would be 
terrible beyond conception, yet not at a;l adorable or 
amiable : and thefe natural perfections do not fo proper- 
ly conftitute any part of the divine character, as deniie 
and defcribe Him to whom that character belongs. Ac- 
cordingly we continually read in the facred Scriptures, 
that Jehovah " is righteous in all his ways and holy in 
"all his works." "He is," not only, "a God of 
" knowledge ;" but " by him actions are weighed." 
" A God of truth without iniquity ; juft and right is he.'* 
" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?" " fcr 
" he is of purer eyes than to behold evil." So that he 
is declared to be both infinitely holy in his nature, and 
unalterably righteous in his government of the world : 
for " God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth ; the 
" Lord revengeth and is furious •, he will take ven- 
" geance on his adverfaries* :" We are indeed told by 
fpeculating men, that fuch expreffions are only an ac- 
commodation to human infirmity, and that there are no 
fuch paffions in the divine nature : and if this were 
merely intended to direct our interpretation of them, 
and to remind us, that all that perturbation which anger 
and revenge excite in our minds, and all thofe effects 
which flow from them, were to be excluded from our 
apprehenfions of the Deity ; it would be very proper. 
But furely, the only wife God knows beft how to fpeak 
of himfelf : and we may fafely " fpeak according to his 
U oracles." Abhorrence of evil, and indignation again ft 
evil doers, are not finful paffions, but requifite to a holy 
character ; and to execute vengeance on criminals is an 
indifpenfable duty to a ruler. We pretend not to ex- 
plain how thefe things fubfift in, and are exercifed by 
the divine mind'; but we know who hath faid, " Ven- 
" "geance is mine, and I will recompenfe," and we hef- 
itate not to repeat his words, without attempting to ex- 
plain away their awful import. 

When we have added to this delineation, the enlarged 
goodnefs and liberality of the Lord, who delighteth in 

* Nah. i. 2....6. 
E 



46 On the Scriptural Essay III. 

communicating being and bleffednefs, and " ope neth his 
" hand to fill all things living with plenteoufnefs •" we 
perceive a character completely amiable, adorable, and 
glorious, and peculiarly animating to all obedient crea- 
tures ; and muft allow the reafonablenefs of the com- 
mand, "thou (halt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
*< heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind, 
" and with all thy flrength." Yet is this very character 
moft tremendous to finner^, who mud be difcouraged, 
and verge to defpair in proportion as they become ac- 
quainted with it ; except as they attend to the difcovery 
of his plenteous, rich, and everlafting mercy. Mercy 
refpects mifery, and tranfgreffion astru caufe •, it pities 
and relieves mifery, and pardons fin : and without this 
attribute, even the providential goodnefs of God would 
tend to aggravate our guilt, and increafe our condemna- 
tion. Mercy, therefore, is in Scripture fpoken of as 
the peculiar glory of God, and the grand fubjecl: of the 
believers confidence, joy, and grateful praife. Yet, 
when the Lord proclaims his name, as " merciful and 
gracious, flow to anger, long fufFering, and ready to 
forgive ;" he commonly gives fome intimation, " that 
" he will by no means clear the guilty,' or the impeni- 
tent and unbelieving*. All his declarations of compaf- 
fion and love to finners, connect with his holy abhor- 
rence and righteous indignation agaiuil their fins ; and 
contain fome intimations of that change, which his 
grace efFe&s in thofe who fhare his pardoning love. Yet 
even this would be infufRcient to render the exercife of 
mercy, (efpecially in that extent fpoken of in Scripture,) 
confident with the perfaSHon of his holinefs and justice : 
for fhould mercy be (hewn to fuch as merit vengeance, 
(without any provifion made on that behalf,) juftice 
would appear imperfect, its rights violated, and its 
glory eclipfed : the law would be in a mealure degraded - t 
and the divine purity would not fliine forth in its full 
fplendour. Some intimations, therefore, were given 
from the beginning, that- mercy would be exercifed in 
harmony with juftice j and that Jehovah would, through 






* 1 Exod. *xxiv. 6, 7. Nah. i. 2....7. Rom. iii. 19.... 24. 
2 Pet. ii. 4....9. 



Essay III. Chara&er rf God. 47 

the promifed Seed, be "a juft God and a Saviour." 
Under the old difpenfation however, his fervants feem 
rather to have believed that it would be fo, than to have 
had clear perceptions of the myfterious way in which it 
would be effected : but the New Teftament hath remov- 
ed the veil from die fitbj'By provided the veil do not 
{till remain upon our hearts. This appears to be the 
only method, in which the divine character could be 
di played to us in all its glory : at leaft, all created un- 
deiftanding muft for ever have proved incapable of con- 
ceiving in what way the largeft exercife of pardon and 
love to the vileft finners could confift with, and illuftrate, 
the infinite juftice and holiuefs of God ; and eftabhih 
his law in honour and authority. Infinite wifdom alone 
could devife a plan adequate to thei'e purpofes ; it mule 
fpring from boundlef? love ; and we may be fure, that 
the plan repealed to us was the moil approved, of all that 
were poinble, by infinite wifdom and love. 

Every intimation, therefore, of a Meffiah, a Media- 
tor, a mercy-feat ; a High Prieft, or an atoning facrifice, 
mould lead our minds to the great do£trine of redemp- 
tion through Emmanuel's blood, as the central point in 
which every part of the revelation, God hath made of 
himfelf to mam mud meet. But, without further an-, 
ticipating this part of the fubjeel:, we may obferve, that 
the Scriptures every where defcribe our God, as perfect 
in wifdom, holinefs, juftice, truth, goodmfs, and meiy 
cy in all its manifold exercifes ; they reprefent thefe af- 
. tributes as the glory of his nature, and as conftituting' 
him the proper objecl: of our fupreme love, adoration, 
and fervice ; as all harmonizing in his confummate cha- 
racter ; and each of them fub'ferving the exercife and 
glory of all the reft. 

II. In more exactly inveftigating the Scriptures, we 
find thefe attributes exemplified, in the works and dif- 
penfations recorded of our God. The difplay of his 
omnipotence, and other natural perfections in the works 
of creation, or the rnjracjes he wrought in delivering 
his fervants or puniftiing his enemies, is too obvious to 
need a particular difcuffion ', nor is it requifite to en- 
large on his providential goodnefs. But that combina- 
tion of juftice, holinefs, truth, and mercy, which hath 



4 8 On the Scriptural Essay III. 

been Hated as comprifing the character of God, is ma- 
nifefled in his. dealings with his rational creatures. In- 
finite in hoiinefs and juftice " he fpared not the angels 
" that finned, but call them down to hell :" he denounc- 
ed on fallen Adam and his race, the awful fentence, 
" duft thou art and to duft thou {halt " return ;" and 
unnumbered millions have been fwept into the grave by 
moft dire and torturing difeafes. The deftru&ion of 
the old world by the deluge j that of Sodom by fire ♦, the 
plagues of Egypt \ the vengeance executed on the 
Canaanites ; and all the judgments inflicted on the re- 
bellious Ifraelites, in the wildernels, in the promifcd 
land, and through every age, are fuch exhibitions of 
thefe awful attributes, that our minds naturally turn 
from the narrative with averfion j nor can any man ful- 
ly underftand them, till he hath acquired a deep fenfe 
of the ev 1 of fin, and the juftice of God. Nay, the 
corrections inflicted on Lot, David, and other offending 
believers, whofe fins were eventually pardoned, difplay 
the fame attributes, and authorife the fame conclufions ; 
fo that the Pfatmift might well fay, " My flefh trembleth 
" for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments." 
— On the other hand, the Lord's patience, compafiion, 
mercy, and grace are exhibited in all his dealings with 
fallen man : " he endured with much long-fufFering 
" even the veflUs of wrath :" he hath ever appeared rea- 
dy to forgive the pennitent, to pity the wretched, to 
relieve the diftrefTed, to lift up the felf-abaied, and 
comfort the broken-hearted. " His mercy has been 
" upon thofe that feared him from generation to gene- 
" ration :" his dealing with Ifrael as a nation, and with 
individuals, prove this •, nor did any finner ever humbly 
feek his face in vain. The faithfulnefs of God is fo il- 
]uflrated in accomplifhing his promife concerning the 
Seed of the woman, 4000 years after it was given, that 
other inftances need not be adduced. His judgments 
coincided with his threatenings, except as repentance 
intervened ; and a referve of mercy was in that cafe im- 
plied in them all. The manifold wifdom of God is al- 
io molt confpicuous, in arranging thefe displays of juf- 
tice and mercy, fo as to fecure the glory of all his attri- 
butes, and to leave no man any ground to prefume, or 






Essay III. Charafter of God. 49 

to defpair. And the whole of the difcoveries given us 
of the future judgment, and the eternal ftate of happi- 
nefs or mifery, moil perfectly coincide with the declara- 
tions relative to his harmonious perfections But of this, 
and of redemption by the incarnation of Emmanuel and 
his atoning blood, we m ;ft forbear to Tpeak further in 
this place. We may, however, obferve, concerning 
this laft, which is doubtlefs the greatefl of all the difco- 
veries God hath given of himfelf, that it unavoidably 
leads us to fix our peculiar attention upon thofe myfte- 
ries of the Deity, which are fo peculiar to revelation, 
that they who " lean to their own understandings" 
would reprefent them as contradictory and impoffible^ 
Yet, it will be fliewn that they are certainly revealed in 
Scripture ; and thence it will follow, that they are ap- 
propriated to the true Object of all adoration, and dif- 
tinguiih him from every idol : fo that they, v/ho reject 
the peculiar my fteries which it reveals, and adore net 
the One Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghoft, into which Chriftians are baptifed, cannot be 
faid to worlhip that God, whofe nature and perfections 
are dec'are ! in the facred Scriptures. And as all the 
divine perfections are only feen, in perfect harmony, 
u in the face of Jefus Chrift ;" they il whofe eyes are 
" blinded, that they ihould not fee the fight of this 
« glory*," certainly worfhip the invention of their own 
minds and not the God who hath revealed himfelf to 
man in the perfon of Jefus Chrift. Indeed, this is ma- 
nifeft from the imperfection of the object of their wor- 
ship, whom they delineate as fo clement, that he can- 
cel hate and punifh fin according to its defert ; and by 
the blafphemies which they often utter againit God's 
juili.e and holinefs, and the judgments which he hath 
executed and threatened. Let us then regard this, as a 
matter of the greateil poilible importance, and Yeek the 
knowledge of God from his word; and the teaching of 
his Spirit, as the fundamental concern in all our religi- 
ous enquiries :' that lb we may be engaged, above all 
things, to fear, love, confide in, worfhip, and ferve 
him •, and to feek all our happinefs in enjoying his fa- 
vour and glorifying his name. 

jk — _ — , ■ " » " ■■ ■ '-*■<*- 

* 2 Cur. iv. 3.M.6* 
E ii. 



ESSAY IV. 



A Brief Exposition of the Ten Commandments, as 
comprising the Substance of the Moral Law. 



r ROM the fcriptural chara&er of God, we pro- 
ceed to the confideration of his moral government, as 
ma ie known to us by revelation : and a clear knowledge 
of his holy law is peculiarly requifite, in forming our 
judgment on this fubjecl: This was delivered to Ifrael 
by Jehovah himfelf, from mount Sinai, with mofl tre- 
mendous difplays of his majefty, power, and juftice : 
and though other Scriptures muft be adduced, as a di- 
vinely inipired comment ; yet the decalogue may pro- 
perly be taken for our text, in examining the demands 
of the moral law — It is evident, that there is a diftin&ion 
between moral precepts and pofiiive injlitutions : fome 
things are in themfelves fo indifferent, that the fame 
authority, which commanded, might have forbidden 
them •, as the ufe of bread and wine in one ordinance 
and that of water in another : but it is abfurd to fup- 
pofe, that God could have required his creatures to def- 
pife him or to hate one another ; or to have forbidden 
them to fpeak truth and to do juftice. 

Some traces of the moral law are difcoverable by our 
natural reafon, and the whole accords to it : it has its 
foundation in the nature of God and man, in the rela- 
tions men bear to Him and to each other, and in the 
obligations that refult from them ; on which account it 
is immutable in its requirements, and demands obedi- 
ence from all mankind, as far as they have an opportu- 
nity of becoming acquainted with it. Different cir- 
cumftances may indeed occafion a coincident variation j 
as the entrance of fin hath rendered patience, and for- 
givenefs of injuries exercifes of our love to God and 



Essay IV. On the Ten Commandnmits. 51 

our neighbours : but though thefe will ceafe in heaven, 
vet the grand principles whence they are deduced will. 
continue the fame to eternity. 

The law is 2M0 f pi ritual ; that is, it takes cognizance 
of our fpirits, or our mod fecret thoughts, defires, pur- 
pofes and difpofitions ; and demands the exadx regula- 
tion of the judgment, will, and affections, in conformi- 
ty to the holy excellencies of the divine charadter. 
Love is its principal requifition, without which the beft 
external obedience is condemned as hypocrify. This is 
peculiar to the law of God, who alone can fearch the 
heart : but in common with other laws, it requires en- 
tire, uninterrupted, and perpetual obedience ; for no 
law can tolerate the tranfgreffion of itfelf. From the 
entrance to the clofe of life the Lord enjoins upon us 
exa£t, conformity to every precept : every deviation 
from this perfect rule whether by omiffion or commiiTion, 
excefs or defect:, is Jin • and every fin deferves wrath, 
and needs forgivenefs*. 

As the ten commandments are divinely commented 
upon in all the preceptive part of Scripture -, fo the 
fubftance of them is fummed up, in the two great 
commands of " loving God with all our heart, with 
(i all our mind, with all our foul, and with all our 
u flrength," and of " loving our neighbours as our- 
" felves :" and we are authorifed by our Lord's exam- 
ple, to interpret every one of them in the fhicSteft., moft 
ipiritual, and mod extenfive fenfe, of which.it is ca- 
pable. Even repentance, faith in Chrifl, and all other 
evangelical graces and duties, are exercifes of this en- 
tire love to God, and required of a fmner as placed 
under a difpenfation of mercy ; though originally the 
law had nothing to do with redemption, but lay at the 
foundation of another covenant. We may, therefore, 
wave the controverfy concerning the rule of duty $ 
whether it be the ten commandments, or the whole 
word of God : for the one, properly underftood, will 
be found as broad as the other : feeing we caunct love 
God with all our hearts ; unlefs we love every difcovery 



* Rom. iii. 19....23. 



52 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

he is pleafed to make" of his glory, believe every tefti- 
mony and embrace every prcniife which he gives, and 
feek his favour in the ufe of all the means he is pleafed 
to appoint. Yet this relates only to the law, as the 
rule of duty, and as given in fubfervieney to the go/pel : for 
originally it contains nothing about mercy, repentance* 
or acceptance of imperfect obedience ; but only fays, 
" Do this and live," and " Curfed be every tranf- 
« greifor " 

Thus the law was given to Ifrael, not only to (hew 
them their real condition according to the covenant of 
works, but alfo with reference to their national cove- 
nant, and as the rule of duty to redeemed finners : and 
therefore mercy is mentioned in the fecond command- 
ment*, not indeed as communicated by the law, but as 
{hewn by the Lord to his obedient people. The re- 
mainder of this efTay will confift of a compendious ex- 
pofition of the ten commandments, as introductory to 
a further consideration of the divine government. 

The great Lawgiver prefaced his injunction > by pro- 
claiming his own efTential glory and immutable excel- 
lency, " I am Jehovah." As the fource of exiftence, 
and confequently of all power, wifdom, juftice, truth, 
and goodnefs, He is the ftandard of excellence "and 
beauty ; from whom all created amiablenefs is an ema- 
nation, of whofe glory it is a feeble- reflection. To 
Him alone the throne belongs; He only is qualified to 
be the univerfal Lawgiver and Judge ; and he has the 
fole and unalienable title to that love and fervice which 
his law demands. — To this he added ' Thy God," to 
exprefs IfraePs relation and obligation to him. We all 
are rational creatures, and every benefit he bellows 
binds us more forcibly to love and obedience. We, like 
Ifrael, are his profeffed worfhippers ; if we be what we 
profefs, He is our portion and everlafting felicity ; and 
this ftill enhances our obligations to devote ourfelves to 
his fervice* The redemption of Ifrael from the houfe 
of bondage was typical of our redemption by Jefus 
Chrift from fin and mifery : and though all men ought 
to obey the law of God ; yet none do render any fpirit- 
ual obedience to it, except his redeemed people. 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments, S3 

After this folemn introduction, Jehovah firft added, 
" Thou (halt have no other gods before me." The 
commandments are addreffed, in the Angular number* 
to each perfon, becaufe every one is concerned in them 
on his own account : and each prohibition implies a 
pofitive duty. This firft requires a difpofition and con- 
duct fuited to the relation in which we ftand to « the 
" Lord our God." He alone is the adequate object of 
our love, and able to fatisfy our capacity of happinefs : 
all we have and are belong to him, and he has an una- 
lienable right to prefcribe the ufe that we fhould make 
of all his gifts. Be has (o clear a title to our love, grati- 
tude, reverence, adoration, fubmiihor: credence, con- 
-fideace, and obedience ; that we cannot withhold them 
from Him without the moil manifeft injuftice. Con- 
fidering who He is> a?id ivhat He hath done for us, except 
we love him, to the full extent of all our natural pow- 
ers, we do not render him his due : and if we thus 
loved him, all contrary affections would be excluded, 
all inferior affe&ions fubordinated. Admiring his ex- 
cellency, defiring and delighting in him and his favour, 
being grateful for his kindnefs and zealous for his glo- 
ry, with all the energy of our whole fouls ; it is evi- 
dent, that we fhould love other objects only for his fake, 
and according to his will : no creature could then rival 
him in our affections, or prevail with us to neglect his 
fervice : and whilft we rendered him the tribute of ador- 
ing love and praife, and fo glorified Him, we fhould 
poffefs unalloyed felicity in the enjoyment of his favour. 
This is the reafonable flate in which things ought to 
be ; and all that deviates from it is fin, and the efFe£t 
of man's apoflacy. 

In the preceding effay, fome thoughts have been of- 
fered on man's propenfity to idolatry. To the difgrace 
of the human underflanding, the groffeft fpecies of it 
have been very general in the world :, and a more refin- 
ed and plaufible kind of idolatry hath often fupplant- 
ed them in thofe few places, where fomething more ra- 
tional hath prevailed. We need not, however, enlarge 
on this violation of the firft commandment ; or fhew 
particularly how the Pagans, and Ifrael, and fome parts 
of the profefling church of Chrift, by worfhipping 



£4 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

creatures, have afcribed to them the glory of thofe attri- 
butes, which Jehovah incomniunicably pofTeffes. This 
muft be allowed to be the grand tranfgreffion of this 
law ; and all pretences to witchcraft, fortune-telling, 
charms, or incantations, partake in a meafure of the 
fame guilt; as information, or a Hi (la nee, are profeffed- 
ly fought from creatures, where God fhoulcl be wholly 
depended on and fubmitted to But this fpiritual pre- 
cept reaches much further. To love, deiire, delight 
in, or expecl good from, any forbidden indulgence, 
even in the fmalleft degree, muft be a violation of it : 
and to fuirer the molt excellent or amiable of creatures 
to rival God in our affections, muft be a proportion- 
able contempt of him. Athcifm and irreligion violate 
this law : for by them men fet up-themfelves as gods, 
afpire to independence, mje(k fubordination, and refufe 
to render homage or worfhip to any fuperior being ; as 
if they had created themfelves, and were fufficient for 
their own happinefs ! The proud man idolizes himfelf, 
and offers incenfe to his own deity ', and therefore God 
refifteth him as his rival. The ambitious pay homage 
to the opinions of men, and feek happinefs in their ap- 
plaufe, or in fuch honourable diftinctions as they can 
bellow; the revengeful ufurp the throne of God, and 
invade the prerogative of him to M whom vengeance 
" belongeth." The covetous deifies his wealth, the 
fenfualift his vile appetites, and the rapturous lover his 
miftrefs ; he lives on her fmiles, his heaven is placed 
in her favour, and her frown would make him the moft 
wretched of all creatures. Nay the doating hufband 
and fond parent may deify the object of their affec- 
tions : for though they ought to love them tenderly ; 
yet it fliould be in fubordination to the will and glory 
of God. 

But no comment can equal the extent of this com- 
mand. Whatfoever confifts not with the moil: perfect 
•love, gratitude, reverence, .fubmiffion, and devoted- 
nefs of the whole heart to God, is a tranfgreffion of 
it : and it requires us to love the Lord, and all his crea- 
tures, according to .their real worthinefs: not" more, nor 
lefs ; except as finite beings cannot love infinite excel- 
lency in an adequate manner. ■» Obedience to it en- 






Essay IV. the Ten Command?nents. 55 

thrones the Lord in our judgments and affections •, and v 
the whole of our love being thus given to Hi.T,, we 
{hould love all others for bis fake, and according to the 
meafure that he hath enjoined : whilft the violation of it 
deitroys this regular fubordination, and gives the crea- 
ture- the throne in our hearts. Well therefore, may 
it ftand foremoft in the decalogue, for our obedience 
in all other things depends on it : other tranfgreffions 
injure the fubjeclt, and affront the Sovereign •, but the 
violation of this law is high treafo againft the n ajefly 
of heaven *, and it is equally deftru&ive to the happi- 
nefs of all who tranfgrefs it. The expreflion " before 
" me" implied that idolatry could not be kept fo fe- 
cret, but it would be known to the Lord: it would at 
all times affront him to his face ; but efpecially when 
committed by Ifrael, who had his glory continually 
difplayed before their eyes. 

II. The fecond commandment requires us to render 
the Lord our God a worfhip and fervic", fuited to his 
perfe£l\ons J and honourable to his name. His incom- 
prdienfible nature cannot be reprefented by any fimiii- 
tude The moil exquifite painting or fculpture can 
only give an external refemblance of a man : even animal 
life with its feveral functions cannot be thus exhibited, 
much lefs can a likenefs be made of the foul and its 
operations. How difhonourable then muft every at- 
tempt be to reprefent the infinite Cod, "by filver, or 
" gold, graven by art and man's device !" The general 
difpofition of mankind, to form fuch fimilitudes of the 
Deity, proves that low apprehenfions of him are con- 
genial to our nature; and the practice hath exceeding- 
ly increafed the confufion and groffnefs of men's con- 
ceptions concerning him. j The more ftupid of the hea- 
thens alone worihipped the picture or image itfelf; 
others ufed it as a vifible reprefentation of the invifible 
Numen or De'fry : and all that ingenious paphts have 
urged in behalf of their images, is equally applicable to 
IfraePs worfhip of the golden calves, or that rendered 
by the Ephefians to the image of Diana which fell down 
from Jupiter. A material image of the Deity is like- 
wife an affront to the Perfon of Chrift, the only ade- 
quate " Image of the invifible God :". and the worfhip 



56 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

of faints and angels, as mediators and prefent deities, by 
images, in every refpe£t robs him of his mediatorial 
glory. — The commandment does not prohibit the ma- 
king of images and pi&ures for other purpofes, (as fome 
have ignorantly fuppofed ;) for God commanded feve- 
ral to be made even in the conftru&ion of the taberna- 
cle : but the making of them, in order to men's bowing 
down before and worfhipping them ; and in this cafe 
both the image-maker and the image-worfhipper are in- 
volved in the guilt. The prohibition includes every 
kind of creature, becaufe all are utterly unfit to repre- 
fent the infinite Creator: and there are fome devices 
common among us, as emblematic of the Trinitv, which 
feem not to accord to the ftrictnefs of injunction. But 
the fpiritual import of the commandment reaches much 
further. — Superftition, and human inventions in reli- 
gious worfhip, as if they could procure us acceptance 
with God, are evident violations of its fpirit and intent. 
The ufe of things indifferent in religion, without any 
commands from God, leads men's minds to grofs con- 
ceptions of him, as if he delighted in outward fplendour 
or external forms; and it commonly connects with a 
falfe dependence, fubftitutes fomething elfe in the place 
of God's appointments, and tends to an ufurped au- 
thority over men's xonfciences. But many circumjlan- 
ces of worfhip mufl be regulated by human difcretion : 
and every man fhould judge for himfelf which regula- 
tions tend to thefe evils, and which do not ; and be can- 
did in judging fuch as differ from him — Hypocrify and 
formality, arifing from unworthy apprehenfions of God ; 
together with thofe unfcriptural delineations of his cha- 
racter that have been defcribed, are certainly here pro- 
hibited. — In fhort the fecond commandment requires 
us to conceive of God, in all refpe£ts as far as we are 
able, according to the revelation he hath made- of him- 
felf to us : to realifehis glorious prefence to our minds, 
by faiths not by fancy : and to worfhip him as a Spirit, in 
fpirit and truth, not with corporeal reprefentations of 
him before our eyes, our low conceptions of him in 
our minds ; but fincerely, inwardly, with the moll: fer- 
vent affections, and profound reverence of his infinite 
majefty ; in all his appointed ordinances, and in them 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments 57 

alone \ and with frequency, as performing a fervice 
reafonable in itfelf, and moil pleafant to our own fouls, 
as well as honourable to his great Name. 

The reafon given for the prohibition of image- wor- 
fhip, fhews us, that the L rd is fo tenacious of his hon- 
our in this matter, (efpecially in refpeft of his profef- 
fed people,) that the leaft approach to it will excite his 
hotted difpleafure ; even as the jealous hufband is ex- 
afperated, and roufed to feek -vengeance, by whatever 
lead-: him to fufpeft his wife of adultery. If Ifrael, 
or any Ifraelites, revolted to idolatry, they would be 
deemed haters of God ; as the wife would be fuppofed 
to hate her hufband, when fire preferred every worth- 
lefs ftranger to him : and the national covenant, with 
its peculiar bleffings, being forfeited, the fins of the 
parents would involve their offspring in the punifhment, 
even to the third or fourth generation. The mention 
made of mercy, even to thcufands, to vafl multitudes, 
through fucceffive ages to the end of time, relates to 
the law as given in fubferviency to the gofpe/> which was 
adminiflered to the Ifraelites by their legal expiations 
and purifications ; and it fhews how the Lord delights 
in pardoning, the penitent, and blefling the obedient. 
-Thus the natural affection of men for their children 
mould have engaged the Ifraelites to obedience : and by 
every tye they were kept Clofe to the inflituted worfhip 
of God, and at a diftance from all idolatry 

III. The worfhippers of the Lord muff have frequent 
occafion to mention his Name : and fometimes it will be 
requisite for them to call him to witnefs the truth of their 
words, or to bind themfelves by vows and' engagements 
as in his fight. The *third commandment, therefore, 
prohibits us " to take the name of the Lord our God in 
vain ," that is, to ufe it needlefsly, irreverently, pro- 
fanely, or in fraud, difhmulation, and hypocrify. It 
forbids all, rafh and unlawful vows an d fuch as relate 
to things uncertain or impracticable. — Perjury, of every 
kind, is the capital tranfgreffion of it: for by this men 
appeal to the omnifcient heart-fearching God for the 
truth of what they teftify or affert, or their fincerity in 
what they engage to do ; when they do not know the 
truth of the one, and are confciouily infincere in the 

F 



£8 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

other. This is one of the moil attrocious and provok- 
ing crimes imaginable, though common among us to an 
inconceivable degree ; fo that it is little noticed except 
it be accompanied with flagrant injuftice ! For it is con- 
nected with other inftances of difregard to this law ; by 
the unnecelTary multiplication of oaths in our judicial 
tranfac~Hons, even on the mod frivolous occafions ; and 
by the extreme irreverence with which they are'adminif- 
tered, which mould always be done, if poffible. with 
all the folemnity of a religious ordinance, or a£r. of wor- 
fhip. — All appeals to God in common converfation, 
with fuch expreffions, as « the Lord knows ;' when the 
matter attefied is either not true or not important, in- 
volves a meafure of the fame guilt. All curling and 
fwearmg are a moil horrid violation of this command- 
ment. The ufe of the words, < God, Lord ; Chrihy or 
fuch like, without necelhty, ferioufnefs, and reverence j 
whether in improper religious difcourfe, or as expletives 
in talking about other matters : every expreffion, that 
takes the form of an adjuration or imprecation, though 
the name of God be not ufed ; yea, all that is more than 
yea, yea, nay, nay, in common difcourfe ; all jefting 
with God's word or facred things: all irreverence to 
whatever relates to him, and the ufe of his tremendous 
Name, in religious worfhip, after a heedlefs or hypo- 
critical manner : all thefe, I fay, are violations of the 
fpirit of this law. Moreover it implies a command to 
remember habitually the infinite majeiiy, purity, and 
excellency of God; to behave towards him, in word 
and deed, with that awe and reverence of hi-> perfec- 
tions, which becomes fuch mean and worthlefs crea- 
tures in his infinitely glorious pre fence. — -To this law is 
added, that "God will not hold the tranfgrelTor guilt- 
" lefs." Men may not difcover, or they may neglecl: to 
punifh, this crime ; the finner's confcience may fcafcely 
trouble him about it : but let him know, that, God will 
jnoft certainly detecT: and punifh that attrocious affront 
which is thus put u\ on him ; and often without the plea 
of temptat on, or expectation of profit or pleafure : 
unlefs men can find pleafure in difobeying and defying 
their Creator ! But when it fhall at laft be faid to the 
daring tranfgrelTor, " wherefore haft thou defpifed the 



i 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments, £9 

commandment of the Lord ?" his profane trifling will 
be turned into terror and defpair. 

IV. The form of the fourth commandment implies, 
that it had been previoufly known to Ifrael, though they 
were prone to forget it. The reparation of a portion of 
our time to the immediate fervid of God is doubtiefs of 
moral obligation j for his glory, and our good, perfonal 
and Social, temporal and eternal, are intimately connect- 
ed with it: but the exact proportion, as well as the par- 
ticular day j may be confiderd as of pofitive inftifution.- 
Yet the proportion of one day in fcvcn feems to have 
been fixed by infinite wiSiom as mo ft proper, in every 
age of the world : though the change of the difpenfation, 
at the coming of Chrift and after his reSurrection, has 
occaiioned 'an alteration of the day, and an addition to 
the topics, to be peculiarly commemorated and meditated 
on, during the facred reft. The Sabbath among the Is- 
raelites was alfo ceremonial, and therefore it forms a part 
of that law : and being introduced into the judicial law, 
,the violation of it was punifhable by the magiftrate-; 
which feems alfo to be proper in all communities where 
Chriftianity is profeffed, Sx days are allowed us for the 
diligent performance of our worldly bufinefs : but the 
Seventh is conSecrated to the rmrnediate Service of the 
Lord. Our fouls indeed mult he attended to, and our 
God worth pped, every da,, that our bufinefs may be 
regulated in Subfrrviency to his will : but on thefe days 
(t we fhould do all our ivo'~k" with the fole exception of 
works of charity, piety, and neceility ; for " the fabbath 
M was made for man," All works, therefore, of avarice, 
dift uft, luxury, vanity, and felf-indulgence, are entirely 
prohibited. Our affairs fhould be previoufly So arranged, 
that as little as poffihle of a fecular nature may interrupt 
the facred duties of the Lord's day. Trading, paying 
wages, fettling accounts, writing letters of bufinefs, or 
reading books on ordinary Subjects, trifling viftts, jour- 
neys, excursions, diffipation, converfe which only amufes, 
cannot confift with «' keeping a day holy to the Lord :" 
and floth is a carnal not a fpiritual reft. The fabbath 
fhould be a ceflation from worldly labour, and a reft in 
the fervice of God : ferious felf-examination, peruial of 
the Scripture, clofet, family, and public worfliip, in- 



BO A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

ftruclion of children and fervants, meditation and pious 
converfation, fhould occupy our time, from morning till 
evening ; except as thefe duties are fufpended by atten- 
tion to fuch things, as really conduce to our own good or 
that of others. All this is obligatory on thofe who can 
do it : but fervants, and others, may be under a real ne* 
cejjtty of doing things which are not neceffary in them* 
feives ; though liberty of this kind fhouid be preferred 
to gain, and good management might often greatly lefTen 
this evil. Were our love to God and fpiritual things.as 
intenfe as it ought to be, we fhould deem a day thus 
fpent our great delight ; for heaven will be an eternal reft 
not effentially differing from it. All our averfion to fuch 
ftric~tnefs arifes from " the carnal mind which is enmity 
againft God,:" and the advantages that would acrue from 
thus hallowing the fabbath, to the morals, health, liberty, 
and happinefs of mankind arefo many and obvious, that 
they who doubts its obligation often allows its expediency. 
But men fhould not only forbear to fet their children, 
fervants, or flaves, about any needlefs work ; they fhould 
alfo with authority require them to keep holy the Lord's 
dav, which is greatly intended for their benefit. The 
cattle muft alfo be allowed to reft from the hard labour 
of hufbandry, journeys, and other employments connect- 
ed with trade or plealure ; though dcubtlefs we may em- 
ploy them too : in works of neceffity, piety, and charity : 
and thus they may properly be u{cd for the gentle fer- 
vice of conveying thofe to places of public worfhip, who 
could not otherwife attend, or perform the duties to 
which they are called : yet oftentation and felf- indulgence 
multiply violations of the Lord's day in this refpecl. 
Even grangers, refkling among us, fhould be perfuaded 
to hallow, and reftrained from profaning, the fabbath. 
—-It was indeed originally irftituted in honour of God 
our Creator : reafons are adduced in other parts of Scrip- 
ture, which peculiarly refpected the Jews, or referred to 
the caufe of humanity : but redemption by Chrift, as- 
completed in his refurreclion, and the defcent oft e Holy 
Ghoft to glorify him, are efpecially commemorated by 
Chr ftians, whilft they hallow the firft of the week, as 
the Lord's day. — This very compendious expofit : on of 
the firft table of the law fuffices to prove its requirements 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments. 61 

to be very extenfive, fpirituai, reafonable, and beneficial; 
yet it muft be owned to be entirely contrary to the dii- 
pofition of our hearts, and diverfe from the tenor of our 
lives : We all therefore need mercy, redemption, and a 
new creation to holinefs, in order that we may pleafe 
God and be made fit for heaven. — We proceed to the 
fecond table. 

V. This commandment of honouring parents muft 
be confidered as the abftra£t of our relative duties. Ail 
other relations fpring from that of parents and children, 
or partake in a meaiureofits nature; and this (hadows 
out our relation to the great Creator. Children are re-» 
quired to honour their parents ; which implies that it is 
the cfuty of parents to behave honourably by diligently 
performing the ieveral parts of their important charge, 
as entrusted with the care of their offspring, both m 
body and foul ; and by a becoming deportment in all 
other refpe&s. Yet children are not abfolved from their 
duty by the parents' fin, for which they muft anfwer to 
God : and fuch a limitation, in this and other relative 
precepts, woud abfurdly conftitute all the inferior rela- 
tions to be judges and lords over their fuperiors. Chil- 
dren, under God, derive their being from their parents ; 
and they are generally taken care of by them, during 
helplefs infancy and inexperienced youth, with much 
labour and expence. It is, therefore, reafonable, that 
they mould fo long obey them unrefervedly in all things 
lawful ; and afterwards in all things that are not mani* 
feftiy injurious to them, though they fhould be dif- 
agreeable. They ought to love their perfons ; refpe& 
their characters, counfels, and inftru£tions ; confult 
their intereft, eafe, credit, and comfort ; conceal their 
infirmities, bear with their tempers and humours, alle- 
viate their forrows, and rejoice their hearts as far as 
poffible : and when they are grown old and incapable of 
maintaining themfelves, they are bound, if able, even 
to labour for their fupport, as their parents did for 
them when infants. In all this, both parents are equally 
included ; and fhould alike be honoured and obeyed, 
and not in oppofition to one another ; which fhould 
teach them to let their children an example of impartial- 
ity, and to be harmonious in their conduct towards 
$2 



62 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

them. By parity cf reafon, they^ who have a£ted a 
parent's part, are entitled to a correfpondent refpecl: 
and deference : and ail the fuperior and inferior relations 
have their feveral reciprocal duties, which may be re- 
ferred to this command ; but will be diftin&iy confider- 
ed in a feparate Eflay, on a future occafion. The an- 
nexed promife of long life to obedient children might 
have a peculiar reference to the covenant-of Ifrael ; yet 
careful obfervers of mankind have noted its remarkable 
fulfilment in other nations. Subordination in the family 
and community tends to perfonal and public felicity : 
and the diflike, which the human heart bears to fub- 
wiiffion, renders it proper to enforce it by motives of 
every kind. 

' VI. This commandment requires us to " love our 
" neighbour as ourfelves," in refpecl of his per/on and 
life. Magiftrates, as "God's minifters in executing 
" vengeance," are in fome cafes commanded to put men 
to death ; and in others it may be allowable, becaufe 
conducive to the public good. Witnefles or execu- 
tioners may concur in fuCh capital punifhments. We 
may doubtlefs take away another's life in defence of our 
own ; and perhaps in fome cafes in defence of cur pro- 
perty. — Some wars are neceflary, and the blood fried in 
then! is not imputed as murder to thofe that fried it : yet 
the guilt of it muft reft fomewhere ; and alas, few wars 
are fo entered upon and conducted, as to leave any of 
the contending parties free from blood-guiltinefs. A 
man may by misfortune kill another : yet God condemns 
as wilful murder many of thofe incidents, which are cal- 
led by our law manslaughter. Furious paflion, excited 
by fudden provocation or drunkennefs, is no where in 
Scripture excepted from the general rule, " He who 
** fheddeth man's blood, by man fhall his \ Tood be fried." 
The duellifl is a revengeful murderer of the moft atro- 
cious kind : all fighting for wagers or renown violates 
this command, and the blood thus fried is murder. 
"What then fhall we think of the accurfed Have trade, 
which will furely bring vengeance on this nation, if 
much longer tolerated ! — Even laws, needlefsly fangui- 
nary, (as 1 fear many are in this land,) -nyoive the per- 
{on.5 concerned in this enormous guilt : and they, who 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments. 65- 

fhoufd punifh the murderer and yet fufFer him to efcape, 
will be numbered among the abettors of his crime at 
God's tribunal. The commandment likewife prohibits 
us to aflault, maim, or wound others, or to aflift thofe 
that do *, to tempt men to crimes that deftroy their con- 
ftitutions, or endanger their lives, either from the 
fword of juftice, or the refentment of the ir.jured party ; 
nay to entice men, by the profpecl: of a large reward, 
to fuch enterprifes and labours as are known generally 
to fhorten life. Many parents and wives are murdered 
by the grofs mifcondu6t of their children or hufbands ; 
and numbers will be found guilty of tranfgreffing it, by 
covetoufly or malicioully wifhing the death of others. 
The fpiritual import of the commandment prohibits all 
envy, revenge, hatred, orcaufelefs anger; all that in- 
"fulting language which provokes to wrath and murder ; 
and all the pride, ambition, or covetoufnefs which 
prompt to it. Nay, that man will be condemned as the 
hater and murderer of his brother, who, feeing his life 
endangered by the want of food, raiment, or medicine, 
and having ability to relieve him, felfifhly neglects to 
do it*. — But the murderer of the foul is ftill more hein- 
ous. This is committed by feducing men to fin; by a 
bad example ; by dilTeminating poifonous principles ; by 
terrifying others from religion by perfecution, or revil- 
ing or ridiculing fuch as attend to it ; and by withhold- 
ing due inftru&ions, warnings, and counfels, efpecially 
fuch as parents owe to their children, or minifters to 
their people : and it is tremendous to think, what num- 
bers will be thus condemned as Jhe murderers of the 
fouls of men. — The heinoumefs of fuicide likewife 
fhould be efpecially marked — It is in reality the moft 
malignant of all murders ; and, as fcarcely ever repent- 
ed of, it combines the guilt of murdering both foul and 
body at once. We were not the authors, and are not 
the lords, of our own lives : nor may we leave our af- 
(igned pofi, or ruih without a fummons into the pre- 
fence of our Judge ; any more than we may execute 
vengeance on our neighbour, or fend him to God's tri- 
bunal. Self-murder may be eafily (hewn to be a com- 

• * >-■■ ■ .— . — - — v. 

* 1 John, iii. 15....17. 



&4f A brief Exposition of Essay IV, 

plication of ingratitude, contempt of the Lord's gift of 
life, defiance, impatience, pride, rebellion, and infidel- 
ity ; nor is it generally the effect of infanity, (as ver- 
dicts, in which perjury is committed fromfalfe tender- 
nefs, .would lead us to fuppofe ;) except as all are in 
fome fenfe infane, who are hurried on by fierce paffions 
and Satan's temptations. That original murderer knows 
this prefent life to be the only feafon, in which falva- 
tion can be obtained : and therefore, he tempts men to 
fuch excefTes as deftroy the conftitution, or as render 
life miferable •, and he urges them on to fuicide, that 
he may deitroy body and foul by their hands, not being 
permitted to do it by his own power. Extravagance, 
difcontent, and defpondency, fhould therefore be moft 
carefully ihunned ; and gratitude, patience, and hope 
moft diligently cultivated, that he may be difappointed. 
— In a word, this command requires enlarged benevo- 
lence, kindnefs, long-fufFering, and forgivenefs •, and 
a difpofition to feek the welfare in all refpecls of every 
human being. / 

VII. This commandment regulates our love to our 
neighbours, in refpeel: of their purity and domejltc com» 
fort ; and requires the proper government of thofe in- 
clinations, which God hath implanted in order to the 
increafe of the human fpecies. The marriage of one 
man with one woman was originally the inftitution of 
the Creator , and not merely a civil contract, as fome 
pretend ; thefe iK became one flefiV' infeparably united 
for helps meet to each other, to promote and fiiare one 
another's fatisfa&ions, and with united attention to edu- 
cate their common offspring. The entrance of fin and 
death made way for the diffolution of this union; a variety 
of evil- began to embitter the relation ; and abufes were 
foon introduced. But though fome things were former- 
ly connived at, which accorded not with the original 
inftitution ; yet Chrift refers his difciples to that as the 
ftandard of honourable marriage, as far as the change 
of cir^umftances can admit of it. The force acquired by 
men's pafiions, in confluence of fin, renders the "pre- 
* { vention of fornications" one exprefs end of marriage ; 
mutual forbearance and reciprocal compliances are now 
needful and incumoent j the forrows of the female fex, 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments., 65 

as well as the afflictions of life, require peculiar fympa- 
thy to alleviate the anguifh of the fuffering party : whilft 
the feparating ftroke of death leaves the furvivor free to 
take another companion. We muft not then define 
adultery, as prohibited in this commandment, accor- 
ding to the judicial law of Mofes, but by the deciuons 
ofChrift; with which polygamy and divorces, (except 
for unfaithfulnefs,) are utterly incompatible. It is evi- 
dent, that marriage, (being recognized in fome appoint- 
ed way, to diftinguifh it from illicit connections,) gives 
each party fuch a property in the other's perfon and af- 
fections -, that every violation of conjugal fidelity, on 
either fide, is adultery, according to the New Tefta- 
ment ; and far more deferves death, (if we eftimate 
crimes by the mifehief they do,) than many offences 
which are capitally puniihed. All other commerce be- 
tween the fexes is prohibited by the fpirit of this law ; 
from the temporary connections, that are formed and 
difTolved at pleafure, to the lowed fcenes of pioftitution. 
The difference between the tempters and the tempted) 
and other circumft^nces, vary the degree of guilt con- 
tracted -, the feducer's character is diabolical : but for- 
nication is in a moit every black catalogue in die Scrip- 
ture : an however men may be deceived by vain words, 
its dire effects on the human fpecies prove vhe goodnefs, 
as well as juflice^ of God in thi arrangement. — Under 
the word lafcivioufnefs, various tranfgreffions are denot- 
ed, which cannot be mentioned without o Fence : nay, 
every thing, which does not comport with the defign of 
marriage, though fanctioned by that name, violates the 
fpirit aal meaning of the prohibition. All polluted dif- 
courfe, i ^aginations, or defires, are condemned by it ; 
" he that looke.th on a woman to luft after her, hath 
(t committed adultery with her already in his heart." 
Writing, publiihing, vending, circulating^ or reading 
obfcene books ; expofing to view indecent pictures or 
ftatues. or whatever elfs may excite men's paifions, 
muft partake of the fame guilt: whilft wit, elegance, 
and ingenuity only increafe the mifehief, wherever the 
fpecious poifori is adminiftered. All the arts of drefs, 
motion, or demeanour, which form temptations to heed- 
lefs youth j with all thofe blandifhments, infinuaiions, 



66 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

amorous looks and words, which fubferve feduction, 
■fall under- the fame cenfure. in in ort the command- 
ment requires the utmoft pu ity, both of the body and 
foul, in fecret as well as before men ; with an holy in- 
difference to animal indulgences, and ftricl: government 
of ail the appetites, fenfes, and pafhons : and it enjoins 
the defire and endeavour of preferving the fame difpofi- 
tion and behaviour in all others alfo, as far as we have 
it in our power. 

VIII. This commandment is the law of love in ref- 
pecl: of property The productions of the earth are ob- 
tained and prepared for ule by labour : this gives pro- 
perty, and that juftly defcends to the owner's pofterity 
or heirs. From this and fimijar caufes, combining their 
effects for ages, the difference in men's circumftances 
originates. That portion, which we can honeftly ob- 
tain is, " the bread, in which God hath given us," 
with tvhich we fhould be fatisfled. But men's pafhons 
crave more, and floth refufes to labour : hence for e 
and fraud are employed to get poffeffion of the property 
of others, without their free confent. We need not 
enumerate thofe violations, of which huma.- laws take 
cognizance : but men may in various way- break the 
divine law, and yet efcape prefent punifhment. Frau- 
dulent bargains which impofe on the ignorant, credu- 
lous, or neceffitous ; abufe of confidence, extortion, 
exorbitant gain, deceitful combinations to enhance the 
price of good^, or lower the wages of the poor, will be 
condemned at Gods tribunal as violations of it. .The 
overgrown ravager of nations and provinces will be ad- 
judged a prin ipal thief and robber, without any other 
distinction. Plundering the public, whether by op- 
preflive rulers and exorbitant exactions, or by fmug- 
gling and evading taxes ; contracting debts to \upport 
vanity and luxury, or in purfuitof fome fcheme of ag- 
grandizement, or for any thing not abfolutely neceffary, 
without a fair profpscl: of paying them ; taking advan- 
tage of humane laws, to evade payment, when the infol- 
vents are again able to do it ; all extravagance, beyond 
the fober allowance of a man's income"; and flothfulnefs, 
or unnecejfary fubfiftence upon chanty ; are violations 
of this law in different ways. Indeed it cannot confift 



Essay IV. the Ten Commandments. 6*7 

with it to withhold from real objects of companion 
prope relief; or to fqueeze the poor fo low in their 
wa d ,es, that they can fcarcely fubfift, that men may live 
in affluence and enrich their families. In fhort the fpi~ 
•rit of it prohibits covetoufnefs, luxury, and the pride of 
life •, and it requires induftry, frugality, fobriety, fub- 
miffion to God's providence and a difpofition "to do 
to all others," in refpect of worldly property, » as we 
" would they mould do unto us." 

IX. This commandment is the law of love, as it ref- 
pects our neighbour's reputation: though, in the con- 
nection of human affairs, the violation of it may like- 
wife affedt his property and life ; and bearing falfe wit- 
nefs, in a court of juftice amon,; us, may be perjury, 
robbery, and murder, as well as calumny. In fuch 
important concerns, we mould teftify nothings of 
which we have not the fulleft afTurance ; and every hu- 
man paffion mould be watched over, that our evidence 
may not be warped by any of them. We mould be 
exact to a ivord in reporting what we know, and in 
fpeaking the truth, and no more than the truth : and 
equal caution is required in juries, and in the judge who 
decides the caufe.— -The malicious invention and circu- 
lation of flanderous reports, to the injury of a man's 
character, has a large proportion of the fame atrocious 
guilt To do this in fport is an imitation of the mad- 
man, who throws about arrows, fir- brands, and death, 
for his diverfion : to fpread fuch (lories as others have 
framed to the difcredit of our neighbour, when we fuf- 
pect them to be falfe or aggravated; or even, if we 
fuppofe or know them to be true, when there is no real 
occafion for it, (fuch as the detection of a mifchievous 
hypocrite or defigning villain,) is prohibited by this law : 
for the practice refults from pride, felf-preference, ma- 
levolence, or conceited affectation of wit andjiumour. 
Severe cenfures, bitter farcafms, ridicule, harih judg- 
ments, afcribing good actions to bad motives, innuendos, 
mifreprefentations, collecting and vending family anec- 
dotes, and various other practices of the fame nature, 
confift not with it. this commandment is frequently 
violated by authors •, a lie or flander is far worfe when 
printed than when only fpoken ; and religious contro- 



68 A brief Exposition of Essay IV. 

verfy is too generally difgraced by the moft abominable 
calumnies : for bigots of all parties agree in mif-ftating 
the actions, mifquoting the writings, and mifreporting 
the words, of their opponents. Ail lies area violation 
of this law. They are in every pollible cafe an abufe of 
fpeech, and of our neighbours' confidence, and a de- 
rogation from the valuation of truth ; and almoft always 
injurious to mankind Envy of others' praife alfo runs 
counter to the fpirit of the law. In fhort it requires 
fincerity, truth, fidelity, candour, and cautic-i ; with a 
difpofition to honour what is honourable in all men, and 
to be as tender of their reputation, as we could reafona- 
bly expe£f. them to be of ours. With this in conftant 
view, bur feelings will inftru£r. us how far this rule 
mould extend its influence on our conduct. 

X. Laflly, we are commanded not to covet any thing 
that is our neighbour's. This reftri&ion is placed as 
the fence of all the reft : the Apoftle's reference to it*, 
fhews that it comprifes the utmoft fpirituality of the 
law *, and it is a perpetual confutation of all thofe fyf- 
tems, by which the outward grofs crime is confidered as 
the only violation of the command. We muft not fo 
much as defire a ,y thing whatsoever, which God for- 
bids or which his providence withholds : and fo far from 
levelling property, or feizing violently on our zaeigh- 
bour's poneffions, we may not fo much as hanker after 
them. The moft fecret wifh for another man's wife 
violates this precept : but to defire an union with an 
unmarried woman, only becomes finful when it is ex- 
celTive, and when it is not fubmitted to the will of God 
if he render it impracticable. We may defire that part 
of a man's property, which he is inclined to difpofe of, 
if we only mean to obtain it on equitable terms : but 
what he chufes to keep we may not covet. The poor 
man may defire moderate relief from the rich : but he 
muft not hanker after his affluence, or repine even if he 
do not relieve him. Men expofed to equal hazards, 
may agree to a proportionable contribution to him who 
fuffers lofs •, for it accords with the law of love to help 
the diftrefled. This exculpates infurance when fairly 



* Rom. vii. 7. 8. 



Essay IV, the Ten Commandments. 69 

conducted. But every fpecies of gaming originates from 
an undue defire and hope of increafing wealth by pro- 
portionably impoverifhing other men ; and is, therefore, 
a dire£t violation of this law. Public gaming, by lot- 
teries* fo far from being lefs criminal than other fpecies 
o? that vice, is the worit of them all : for it abets and 
fan&ions, as far as example and concurrence can do it, 
a, practice which opens the door to every fpecies of 
fraud and villainy *, which is pregnant with the molt 
extenfive evils to the community and to individuals ; 
which feldom fails to bring feveral to an untimely end 
by fuicide or the fentence of the law ; which unfettles 
an immenfe multitude from the honeft employments of 
their ftation, to run in queft of imaginary wealth *, and 
which expofes them to manifold temptations, unfits 
them for returning to their ufual mode of life, and often 
materially injures their circumftances, breaks their fpir- 
its, fours their tempers, and excites the woril pa {lions 
of which they are fufceptible. Indeed, the evil of lot- 
teries, political, moral, and religious, are too glaring to 
be denied even by thofe who plead necsjfity for continu- 
ing them ; and too numerous to be recapitulated in this 
place. Can it therefore con fill with the law of God, 
" Thou (halt not covet," or with the character of a 
Chriftian, to concur in fuch an iniquitous and injurious 
fyftem, from a vain defire of irregular gain ? Whatever 
argument proves it unlawful for two or three men, to 
call lots for a fum of money, or to game in any other 
way, much more ftrongly concludes againft a million 
of perfons gaming publickly by a lottery for a month or 
fix weeks together, to the nagnation in great meafureof 
every other bufijiefs : whilft the gain rn^de by govern- 
ment and by individuals, from the (lakes depofited 
with them, renders it as impolitic as unlawful ; for 
every individual Hikes three to two on an even chance, 
if a covetous appeal to Providence may be fo called*. 
— Even Tontines feem not wholiv excufeable. Thefe 
constitute a kind of complicated wager about longevity, 
to be decided by Providence in favour of the furvivors ; 



* Prov. xvl. 33. 
G 



70 On the Ten Commandments. Essay IV. 

and muft therefore be equally culpable with other games 
of chance. — Coveting other men's property contrary to 
the law of love, and enriching the furvivors, commonly 
at the expence of the relatives of the deceafed, are inti- 
mately connected with them : Whilit they lead men into 
ftrong temptations fecretly to w ; ih the death of others, 
for the fake of advantages which they inordinately defire 
and irregularly purfue. — In fine, difcontent, diftruft, 
love of wealth, pleafure, and grandeur, defire of change/ 
the habit of wifhing, and every inordinate affection, are 
the evils here prohibited •, and we know them to be the 
fources ofall other crimes, and 01 man's mhery. And 
the command requires moderation in refpecT: ofall world- 
ly things, fubmiffion to God, acquiefcence in his will, 
love to his commands, and a reliance on him for the 
daily fupply of all our wants as he fees good. 

We cannot clofe this brief explication of the divine 
law*, (in which we find nothing redundant, defective, 
or injurious, but all things holy, juft, and good,) more 
properly, than by the words of our church -fervice, 
« Lord have mercy upon us,' ( orgiving i-11 our paft 
tranfgreflions,) j? and write all thefe thy laws in our 
« hearts, we befeech thee.' 



ESSAY V. 



On Man's situation, as a Sinner •, in this present 
World. 



THE Apoftle has defined fin to be " the tranf- 
<* grefiion of the law*,'* and whatever, in any refpecl; 
or degree, deviates from this perfect rule, is fin, and 



* 1 John, iii. 4. 



Essay V. On Man's situation in this World. 71 

i 
expofes a man to condemnation. " By the law" there- 
fore " is the knowledge of fin* :" the better we under- 
ftand the holy, juft, and good commandments of God ; 
the more enlarged will be our acquaintance with the 
vaft variety of fins that are continually committed, as 
well as with the evil an.! defert of every tranfgreffion : 
and a comprehensive knowledge of our whole duty is 
effential to a juft eftimate of our own character, or our 
fituation in refpeit to the eternal world. 

But we ifiould not only attend to the requirements and 
prohibitions of the divine lav/ : its finclionsalfo demand- 
ed our moft ferious confideration. Indeed the law,, 
ftri&iy fpeaking, (as diftinguifhed from the gofpel.) is 
n\ex:e\y a rul? and a fa nBion : a rule formed by infinite 
wifdom, holinefs, and goodnefs, and enforced by fu~ 
preme authority; a fanEiim to b 3 awarded by immuta- 
ble ju ice and almighty power, according to the decla- 
rations of eternal truth. Repentance and amendment 
are right, and accord to the fpi it of the commandment \ 
but they make no compenfation for tranfgreffion, and 
are not noticed by the law : and the mercy exercifed 
by the Lawgiver has reference to the provifions of another 
covenant. Perfect obedience is the uniform demand of 
the precept *, condemnation inevitably follows tranf- 
greffion. " Whofoever (hall keep the whole law, and 
" yet offend in one point, he is guilty of -all'p ;" even as 
a man is condemned for violating one of the many 
ftatutes of the realm, in a fingle inftance, though no 
other offence be charged upon him. The Apoftles 
therefore declares, that " as many as are of the works 
ic of tne law, are under the curfe ; for it is written, 
" curfed is every one, that continueth not," (during 
his whole life,) " in all things which are written in the 
" book of the law to do themt :" and the moral law 
muft at leait be included in this general language. 
They alone, who have at all times perfectly kept the 
whole law, can have the leaft claim to the reward which 
it propofes, for " the man that doeth" the command- 
ments « fhall live in them," but " the foul that finneth, 



* Rom. iii. 20. f James, ii. 8....11. 

\ Deut. xxv i. 15,16, Gal. iii. 10. 



72 On Man's situation, as a Sinner, Essay V. 

" {hall die." And as " all have finned, and come 
" fhort of the glory of God," (of rendering to him the 
glory due to his name :) fo in this refpeft " there is no 
" difference," but u every mouth fhall be flopped, and 
" all the world fhall become guilty before God* ;'* 
though an immenfe difference will be found between 
fome men and others, in refpecl: of the nature, number, 
and aggravations, of their offences. All attempts 
therefore, in a finner to juftify himfelf, mult refult 
from ignorance of God and his law, and of himfelf ; or 
from a difpofition to impeach the ftridtnefs of the law, 
and the juftice of the Lawgiver. 

Our Lord himfelf explains the import of ihe curfe of 
the law, from which he redeemed his people by be- 
coming a curfe for them, when he forwarns us r that 
he will fay to the wicked at the day of judgment, " De- 
" part from me, ye curfed, into everlafling fire, pre- 
" pared for the devil and his angels; — and thefe fhall 
" go away into everlafting punifhment*."- — In reflect- 
ing on this awful fubjecl:, we fhould recollect that man 
is conftituted of body and foul •, and that the foul pur- 
pofes the a£t. of di'obedience, while the body executes 
its purpofes : fo that it is highly reafonable to fuppofe, 
that the foul will at leaft fhare the punifhment which 
the law denounces againfl the offender. When there- 
fore, the apoflle reminded his brethren of their obliga- 
tions to the Lord Jefus, he fays, " Who delivered us 
" from the wrath to comef," whence it is evident, that 
he confidered himfelf, and all the chriflians in the 
world, to have been previoufly expofed, not only to 
prefent effects of the divine difpleafure, (from which 
Jefus does not deliver his people,) but alfo to future 
condemnation. The original tranfgreflion, through 
which by " one man fin entered into the world, and 
« death by fin," was indeed a violation of a pofitive 
injunction •, but love to God, to himfelf, and to his 
pofterity, absolutely required Adam to obey it \ fo that 
by difobedience he fell under the curfe of the law, 



* Rom, iii. 9.... '23. 
t Matt. xxv. 41.. ..46. \ Thess. i. 10. 



Essay V. in this present World. 73 

which doubtlefs exifted, and was in full force from the 
creation, in refpeet of its effential requirements : and 
the event fufficiently proves, that all Adam's pofterity 
were interefted in that tranfa£Uon, and fell with him ; 
for it is an undeniable fact, that men are univerfally prone 
to break the law of God, and univerfally liable to pain, 
fuffering, and death. All, that truly believe the Bible, 
will reft fatisfied with the fcriptural aeeount of this 
myfterious fubjecl: : others will never be able to ac- 
count for the Rate of the world on any principles that 
are more rational : and the proper anfwer to thofe, who 
object to an evident fact, as incorrfiftent with divine 
juftice, wifdom, and goodnefs, has been already given 
by the apoftle, " Nay but, O man, who art thou, that 
" replieft againft God ?" 

But oar fituation, as fmners, in this prefent world, 
will not here be confidered fo much as the. effect, of 
Adam's fin, as of our perfonal tranigreflions : for, 
whatever we might argue concerning thole " who have 
«« not finned after the fimilitude of Adam's tranfgref- 
" fion," by willingly and knowingly preferring their 
own inclinations to God's exprefs commandment ; fuch 
as are capable of reading this effay, will hardly pretend 
that they have never once finned in this manner. It is 
evident that " it is appointed to all men once to die ;"' 
the fentence, " dull ye are, and to . duft ye (liall return," 
overtakes every one': no vigour, power, wifdom, learn* 
ing, wealth, efforts, or virtue, can refcue any man from 
this common lot of our fallen race : only two excep- 
tions have hitherto been made to the general rule \ no 
more are to be expected till the coming of Chrift j and 
few have ever been fo abfurd as to think of eluding, or 
overcoming, this univerfal conqueror. But " after 
tc death is the judgment :" and though few are willing 
to believe the folemn truth •, yet it would have been 
found equally impoffible for any (inner to efcape con- 
demnation, at that decifive feafon •, had not mercy 
brought in another hope by Jefus Chrift.. 

If we judge of difpofitiom and anions by the holy 

law of God, we (hall not long be able even to doubt: 

but that al[ men are bom in Jin, and by nature propenfe- 

to evil and averfe to do good. " That which is bora of 

G2 



74 On Man's situation , as a Sinner, Essay V. 

" the flefh, is neih 5" and the carnal mind, which is 
natural to us, is <r enmity againft God*." It is the 
univerfal law of the whole creation, that every plant 
or animal poflefTes the properties of that, from which 
it was derived. When Adam became a finner, he be- 
gat fons " in his own likenefs :" that, which the Crea- 
tor had pronounced very good foon became very bad ; 
" the imagination of men's hearts were only evil con- 
" tinually," " the earth was filled with violence'' and 
wickednefs, and fo it evidently continues to this day. 
If men argue, that all this refults from the education, 
habit, and example ; we might enquire how it came to 
pafs, that bad education, examples, and habits became 
fo general, if the nature of man be not bad alfo ? But 
the impoffibility, in the ordinary courfe of things, of 
" bringing a clean thing out of an unclean," fhews us 
how the world comes to be io full of all vice and wick- 
ednefs, 

It muft be allowed by all obferving and impartial 
perfpns, that men in general, in all parts of the earth, 
are very different, in their difpofitions and conduct, to 
what the law of God requires them to be. It is alfo 
moft certain, that they are liable to a vafl variety of 
miferies and pains ; that anxiety, vexation, difappoint- 
ment, and diffatisfacSHon are infeparable from earthly 
condition, purfuit, poiTefhon, and connection •, that 
life itfelf is fhort and uncertain ; that the approach and 
ftroke of death muft always be accompanied with griev- 
ous fufferings, if not with terror and difmay ; that 
every earthly purfuit and enjoyment muft mortly be 
thus terminated; and that the body (however active, 
vigorous, comely, pampered, or decorated it may now 
be,) muft then be configned to the dark and noifome 
tomb, there to moulder to original dull. All this 
would be very gloomy and dreary, even if it could be 
certainly known that nothing further was to be appre- 
hended : but a future ftate of righteous retribution muil 
exceedingly enhance the horror of the profpecl:, to fuch 
perfons as are condemned at the bar of their own con- 



* Rom. viii. 5..i»9. 



Essay V. in this present World. 75 

fciences. The expectation of a future ftate feems con- 
genial to the human mind : and the arguments of va- 
rious kinds, which have been urged in proof of the 
immortality of the foul, and other doctrines connected 
with it, are fo cogent, as to evince fuch expectations 
to be the refult of ferious reflection, and not the ofl> 
fpring of credulity, iuperftition, or impofture : nay, 
fa£ts manifeftly fhew, that no ingenuity or efforts can 
wholly erafe the idea, even from the minds of fuch 
perfons, as are moil; deeply interefted, and mod ear- 
neftly defirous, to find it a mere groundlefs imagination. 

But this expectation of a future ftate is too vague and 
.confufed, to anfwer the practical purpofes of that doc- 
trine. The ignorance of men in general concerning 
the character, commands, and government of God, 
united to the felf- flattery that is natural to us all, pre- 
ferves them in great meafure from that terror, which 
the thoughts of a future judgment, if confidered apart 
from the gofpel of Jefus Chrift, mull: otherwife in- 
fpire : fo that the more men know of God, and of 
themfelves, the greater horror will be aiTociated with 
the profpecl: of death and judgment ; except it be dis- 
pelled by " peace and joy in believing*." 

The immortality of the foul, the refurre£Hon of the 
body, a future judgment, and a ftate of righteous re- 
tribution, are doctrines moll: evidently confirmed to us 
by " the fure teftimony of God :" and fo clear and ex- 
plicit are the Scriptures on thefe topics ; that Scarcely 
any thing, but the conScioufnefs of fuch conduct as 
weakens the hope of eternal felicity, connected with 
■reluctance to admit the dread of eternal mifery, feems 
Sufficient to induce men to deny or argue againft the 
-real eternity of that ftate which commences at death, 
.and fhall be confirmed and completed at the day of 
judgment *, whilft the abfurdity of reafoning againft the 
juftice or goodnefs of thofe things, which God hath 
done, or declared he will do, feems the furnmit of 
man'^ pride, prefumption, and folly. The Greeks were 
a Speculating people, and could not but have the idea 

* Rom. zv. 13. 



76 On Man's situation, as a Sinner, Essay V. 

of duration ivithout end, which is all the idea of eterni- 
ty to which we can attain : the ftrongeft words in that 
copious language are employed by the facred writers on 
this fubjecl: ; and I apprehend, that the expreflion, 
translated for ever and ever, always means eternal in the 
ftri&eft fenfe of that word. He however, that {hall make 
the trial, will Scarcely find more energetic phrafes, in the 
whole compafs of the Greek language as authorifedby the" 
example of ancient writers, to exprefs the idea of eternal 
mifery, than are to be found in the New Teftament. 
The very words are ufed on this awful fubjecl:, by 
which the eternity of heavenly felicity, and the eternal 
exiftence of God are exprefled, and in the fame man- 
ner : the repeated declarations concerning the wicked 
that " their worm never dieth," (which muft denote 
eternal confcioufnefs and felf-rellecl:ion ;) that u their 
" fire (hall never be quenched ; with the words il eter- 
" nal puniftiment," " the blacknefs of darknefs for- 
t( ever," moil obvioufly imply this alarming doctrine. 
It may hereafter be fhewn, that linful creatures muft 
continue guilty and polluted, yea, muft increafe in evil 
propenfities and multiply crimes to all eternity, what- 
ever they fuffer \ unlefs they are changed by an exertion 
of almighty power, and pardoned by an a£t of free 
mercy. Not the moft remote hint is given through the 
whole Scriptures, that mercy or grace will be vouch*. 
fafed to any who die in their fins, or that God will 
ever annihilate his rebellious creatures ; but every thing 
warrants the oppofite conclufion. it evidently anfwers* 
the purpofe of the enemies of our fouls, and forwards 
their work of temptation and deftru£tion, to perfuade 
men that they will not be finally miferable, though they 
continue impenitent and indulge their lufts till death : 
and the folly and madnefs of thofe, who profefs to be- 
lieve the Bible to be the word of God : yet fin on, in 
hopes of finding all the denunciations falfe or unmean- 
ing, which it contains to this efte£t, and who bolder 
up their own and other men's prefumption with vain 
reafonings and fophiftical arguments, is great beyond 
expreffion. 

Our fentiments will not alter the purpofes of God : 
it is therefore as irrational as uncandid to charge thofe 



Essay V. in this present World. 7*7 

with want of fenfibility, companion, or philanthropy, 
who explain fuch Scriptures in their moft obvious mean- 
ing ; and who warn and perfuade men by " the terror 
" of the Lord," to repent and feek the falvation of 
Chfift. If feveral per.ons were fad alleep in a houfe 
that was on fire : we mould belt exprefs our companion 
for them, by alarming them fpeedily and even violently, 
and fo forwarding their efcape : not by leaving, them 
fleep on, left they mould be too much terrified. They, 
who really believe that all impenitent and unbelieving 
finners will be for ever miferable, fuppofe fuch men to 
be in a condition infinitely more tremendous than the 
perfons alluded to ; and they cannot but endeavour to 
convince them of their clanger, ere it be too late ; the 
more they love them, the greater will be their earneft- 
nefs in warning them to " flee from the wrath to come ;" 
and they often mew their philanthropy, by fpending 
their time in inceiTant labours, and by diftributing their 
property to relieve the miferies of mankind; and 
fometimes by iaying down their lives for their good. 

We may a' fa obferve, that the Scripture uniformly 
fpeaks of two ways, two defcrlptions of men, and tiv<? 
places tq which they are removed at death , and never 
intimates a middle path, (late, or character, though 
there be degrees both of happinefa and mifery : nor 
does it mention any alteration, in the condition either 
of the righteous or the wicked: except as the refurrec- 
tion will re-unite their bodies to their fouls, and difplay 
to the whole world the juftice and mercy of God in 
his dealings with them. All purgatories therefore, 
whether before or after the day of judgment, are whol- 
ly unfcripturalj all 'reafonings on this fubjecSI: are vain 
and prefumptuous attempts to remove " the great gulph 
" which God hath fixed;" calculated to take men off 
from preparing ferioufly for that day, when " the wick- 
" ed (hall go away into eternal punifhment, and the 
u righteous into everlafting life." 

It appears, therefore, that every man lies under a 
twofold condemnation for his fins : he b Sentenced to 
various temporal fufFerings to be terminated by death ; 
and to eternal mifery in another world : and if any one 
mould object to this, on the fuppofition that his fins do 



78 On Man's situation, as a Sinner, Essay V. 

not merit fo tremendous a punifhment \ I would zrir- 
quire, whether human legiflators and judges ever think 
the criminals themfeives competent to decide on the 
equity of their ftatutes and decifions ? Or, whether 
we indeed are capable of determining the degree of evil, 
contained in rebellion againfl the authority of the in- 
finite Creator ; and what punimment the glory of his 
name, and the everlailing advantage of the whole crea- 
tion, may require him to inflict upon tranfgreffbrs ? In 
refpecl: of the former part of this fentence, alleviations 
and refpites alone can be expected : but we may hope 
for the entire abolition of the latter ; as we live under 
a difpcnfation of mercy, through the great Mediator 
of the new covenant. On this falvation we may here- 
after enlarge •, at prefent it fufBces to fay with the 
Pfalmift, " if thou, Lord, mould mark iniquities, O 
<( Lord, who (hall (land ! but there is forgivenefs with 
" jhee, that thou mayeft be feared." 

The inevitable certainty of death, the uncertainty of 
the time and manner in which each perfon (hall die ; 
with the manifold troubles and forrows of life, the tur- 
bulency of the pafhons, the remorfe and terrors, and 
the anguifh of the clofing fcene, of wicked men, bear 
no faint refemblance to the confinement, chains, and 
tortures of a condemned criminal, terminating only in 
his execution, The miferies, which they occafion to 
each other, aptly reprefent thofe fcenes, that meet the 
obfervation of fuch perfons as are converfant with prif- 
ons ; in which wretched men have little relief from the 
anguifh of their own minds, except in reproaching and 
plaguing their companions in guilt : while the diffipat- 
ed, fenfual, and noify pleafure, by which at times they 
ftun reflection, and excite tranfient turbulent joy ; re- 
fembles the drunken caroufals of the criminals finging 
and dancing in their chains, and the infatuated Jevity 
of fome of them even to the very moment of execu- 
tion. But the believer has another profpe£t opened to 
his view : he is indeed a criminal, but he is pardoned 
and reconciled to his prince ; a few days he mufl abide 
in his prifon, previoufly to his regular difcharge •, but 
when the other criminals fhall be led to execution, he 
will not only be fet at liberty, but admitted to the pre- 



Essay V. in this present World. 79 

fence and full favour of his gracious Benefactor, enno- 
bled with the greateft dignities, and enriched beyond 
expreffion. In the mean time, the hopes and earnefts 
of fuch felicity fupport and folace his mind, and he 
knows amidil his pains and forrows, that " bieffed is 
" he, whofe iniquities are forgiven, and -whole fins are 
5* covered." 

The uncertain continuance of this vain life is the 
fpace allotted us, by the long-fufferings of our offend- 
ed God, to feek the reverfal of that fentence which re- 
lates to our final condemnation. To direct our courfe 
in this important purfuit, " unto us are committed the 
" oracles of God •," " which are able to make us wife 
« unto falvation by faith in Jefus Chrift." Information, 
counfels. invitations, warnings, and promifes, fuited 
to our cafe, are there given us ; means of grace are ap- 
pointed, in which we may apply for every needful blef- 
fin ; and efpecially the Holy Spirit is promifed to all, 
who humbly depend on his gracious teaching, fanclify- 
ing, and comforting influences, and feek thefe bleffings 
by earned prayer : fo that no man, (whatever his fins 
may be ) can come fhort of this falvation ; provided he 
apply for it in the appointed way, and with a diligence 
fuited to its ineftimable value. This is the fituation of 
every man, fo long as life continues *, for that judicial 
blindnefs and obduracy, to which many are given up, 
confifhs in a total and final neglect, contempt, or abufe 
of thi falvation. But when death removes a man out 
of this world ; his opportunity is paffed, and his ftate 
fixed to all eternity. 

We are then criminals, reprieved for a fhort and un- 
certain time by the piercy of our Prince ; that we may 
have an opportunity of calling ourfelves on his clemen- 
cy, and feeding forgivenefs in a way which for his own 
glory he hath prefcribed. If we avail ourfelves of this 
advantage; the more terrible part our punifhment will 
be remitted, and the remainder counterbalanced by 
moft animating hopes and confolations, fan£tified to 
our greateft good, and foon terminating in everlafling 
felicity : but if we neglect fo great falvationv our vain 
and vexatious worldly purfuits and pleafures will foon 
ilTue in final and eternal mifery. 



;80 On Maris situation, as a Sinner, Essay \ 7 - 

Our firft great bufinefs and intereft, therefore, du- 
ring our prefent uncertain ftate, rauft be, to prepare 
for death and judgment, by feeking " eternal life, as 
C{ the gift of God through Jefus Chrift our Lord :" for 
if we fucceed in this grand concern, all inferior difap- 
pointments or lofTes will fhortly be moft amply made up 
to us •, but if we fail in this refpecl:, our prefent fuccefl- 
es will only ferve to aggravate our future anguifli Ev- 
ery purfuit, which is incompatible with this primary 
intereft,- muft be madnefs and ruin ; however f a fh ion- 
able, reputable, lucrative, or agreeable it mav otherwife 
be. Not only inferior elegancies, diftinc~tions and hon- 
ours ; but even crowns and fceptres, the fplendour of 
courts, the councils of ftatefmen and fenators, the 
grand concerns of empires, yea « aH the kingdoms of 
" the world, and all the glory of them," dwindle into 
utter insignificancy, and fade as a withering flower, 
when compared with eternal happinefs ormifery; " For 
fi what is a man profited if he gain the whole world 
'" and lofe his own foul ?" The foul of man, bearing 
the natural image of God, in its noble powers and fa- 
culties ; capable of being renewed to his moral image 
" .-rlghteoufiiefs and true hqlinefs •" endued with the 
capacity of -mod exquifite pleafure, or moft inconceiv- 
able anguifh •, an i formed to fubfift in happinefs or 
mifery, through the countlefs ages of eternity, is loft 
when the favour and image of God are finally forfeit- 
ed ; and when it is condemned to endure his tremen- 
dous wrath, and to be given up to the unreftrained 
fury of all vile affecTions in. the company of fallen 
fpirits for evermore. This lofs is incurred by fin ; but 
the forfeiture is ratified by the fmner ; s perfevering im- 
penitence, unbelief, and difobedi^nce. The pleafure, 
profit, honour, power, or eafe, which men feek by con-' 
tinuing in fin, is the price of their fouls : they are (o 
infatuated, as thus to fell them for the moft worthlefs 
trifles ; becaufe, (like our firft parents,) they credit 
Satan's lies more than the truth of God, through defire 
of the forbidden fruit ; or becaufe they put off the 
grand concern to a future feafon, and quiet their con- 
fciences, (as> debtors do their importunate creditors ) by 
fixing on fome future time of intended amendment : or 



Essay V. in this present Wortd. 8 1 

becaufe they think their ftate good, when God's word 
declares the contrary. Thus their opportunity elapfes, 
and too late they underftand the energy of the queftion, 
« what (hall a man give in exchange for his foul ?" 

This fhews us the importance of our Lord's exhorta- 
tion, " Seek firji the kingdom of God, and his righ- 
" teoufnefs." Admiffion into that kingdom, which God. 
hath fet up among men by the gofpel of his Son, the 
privileges of which confift in " righ teoufnefs, peace, 
" and joy in the Holy Ghoft ;" the holinefs and blef- 
fings of that kingdom for ourfelves, ^nd the peace, 
profperity, and enlargement of it in the world, fhould 
be fought by dili ence in all appointed means, as our 
grand objecls, with the firll and beft of our time and 
affections, in preference to all other things, and with a 
willingnefs to venture, or part with, whatever comes in 
competition with them •, even if that mould be our ef- 
tates, liberty, friends, or life itfelf. We are not allowed 
" to fear even them who can only kill the body, and 
" after that have no more that they can do;" when this 
would lead us to incur the difpleafure of Almighty God, 
" who is able to deftroy both body and foul in hell." 
A proper attention to our worldly bufinefs and interefts 
is a part of our duty to the Lord, to his church, to the 
community, and to our families; every thing lawful 
and expedient may thus be rendered fubfervient to our 
grand objecl: \ and all things needful will be added to 
us. But men are ruined by reverling God's order, and 
feeking fir ft the world, and the things that are in the 
world., even " the luft of the flefh, the luft of the eye, 
" and the pride of life." 

Even where grof| vices and open ungodlinefs are 
avoided, how greatly are perfons of all ranks, endow- 
ments, and profeflions, " careful and troubled about 
«jt.many things ;" inftead of attending {imply and dili- 
gently to the one thing needful, and decidedly " choof- 
" ing that good part, which could never be taken from 
" them." Men's thoughts, contrivances, hopes, fears, 
joys, forrows, maxims, wifdom, afliduity, and con- 
verfation, are almoft wholly engrofTed by the perifhing 
vexatious trifles of time. Every vague, ftrange, and 
uninterefting report is more attended to, than " the glad 

H 



82 On Man's situation^ in this World. Essay V. 

« tidings of falvation •," every fcience deemed better 
worth cultivating, than the knowledge of God ; every 
queftion is thought to be fufficiently important to fet 
the ingenuity of men at work to give it a fatisfa&ory 
anfwer, except it be enquired « what we muft do to 
44 be faved ?" and fuch topics only excite aftonifhment, 
difguft, a fhort filence, and the ft ar ting of fome more 
congenial fubjeft ! If a man pretend to teach others the 
way to health, to riches, to the enjoyment of life, or 
how to appear to advantage among their companions ; 
affiduous attention and liberal compenfation will not be 
withheld : but they, who would teach men the way of 
eternal life, muft not expe£t much regard, even when 
they defire no other recompence. 

But time,and room would fail, fhould we attempt to 
enumerate the proofs of man's folly and madnefs in tins 
refpe£t. Even the very meffages of God, refpccSting 
judgment, eternity, and his great falvation, (inftead of 
meeting with a ferious regard,) are often fet to mufic^, 
and profanely employed to vary the fpecies of pleafur- 
able diffipation ! Nay, they are often preached out of 
oftentation, avarice, envy, or ftrife ; heard as a matter 
of curiofity or amufement ; or contended for in pride, 
virulence, and furious anger ! The grand bufinefs of 
moft men feems to be, to avoid the burden of reflec- 
tion, to caufe time to glide away as imperceptibly as 
poffible, and fo apparently to fnorten the fpan allotted 
them to prepare for eternity ! Well might the Pfalmift 
then fay, " Rivers of water run down mine eyes* be- 
(i caufe men keep not thy law."— But, O ye giddy 
fons and daughters of Adam, what will ye think of 
your prefent purfuits when death (hall funimon you to 
God's tribunal ? What will then your riches, pleafures, 
decorations, elegances, honours, or dignities avail you ? 
What comfort will the knowledge of all languages and 
fciences then afford? What will you think of your pref- 
ent anxious cares, covetings, envyings, repinings, and 
difputes ; when " the night cometh in which no man 
" can work ?" " Seek/' then, " the Lord while he 
" may be found, call upon him while he is near : let 
"" the wicked forfake his way and the unrighteous man 
*« his thoughts , and let him return to the Lord, ?.nd 
" he will have mercy upon him - 9 and to our God, for 
(i he will abundantly pardon." 



ESSAY VL 

X)n the Deity of Christ. 



1 HE do£trme of a Mediator, through whom a 
ju(t and holy God deals mercifully with believers, is 
the grand peculiarity of revelation : it rauft therefore 
be of the greateft importance for us to form a proper 
eftimateof the perfonal dignity of this Mediator. The 
do&rine, which I {hall here attempt to eftablifli from 
Scripture may be thus dated : 4 That Jefus Chrift is 
'"* truly and really God, one with and equal to the 
« Father; being from eternity poffeffed of all divine 
' perfections, and ju.it ly entitled to all divine honours ; 
\ yet perfonally diftinc~t from the Father, and fo called 
I his own Son, and his only begotten Son. But that in 

* order to the performance of his mediatory office, he 
« affumed our nature into perfonal union with the Deity; 

* became One with us, truly man, like us in all things 
c fin alone excepted : and that he is thus God and Man 
« in one myfterious incomprehenfible Perfon ; fo that 
" all the fulnefs of the Godhead dwells in him bodily." 

No argument can properly be brought againft the 
do£trine of our Lord's ejfential Deity, as here dated, 
from thofe Scriptures whicii fpeak of his human nature, 
his mediatorial office, or his inferiority to the Father m 
both thefe refpe£ts : for our doctrine implies this, and 
even abfolutely requires it. An ambaflador, though 
fubordinate by office to his prince, is not fuppofed to be 
of an inferior nature, or of inferior abilities, to him. 
"We need not therefore difcourfe on this part of the 
fubjeCt : it is generally allowed by all, except deifts- 
and atheifts, that <c Chrift is come in the flefh :" though 
numbers contend that he could not have come in any. 



84 On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

other way -, which renders the language of infpiration 
unmeaning, if not abfurd : while others deem him a 
mere creature of fome fupra-angelic nature, and only 
called God in confequence of his mediatorial exaltation. 
But the idea of a creature, however exalted, being ad- 
vanced to divinity, is fo repugnant to all rational princi- 
ples, as well as to the declarations of Jehovah, that 
" he knows no God befides himfelf, and will not give 
" his glory to another ;" that it will not be neceflary to 
difcufs the fubject before us with any particular refer- 
ence to thefe diftincl: opinions : as it fully anfwers the 
purpofe, if we can evince that our Redeemer is by na- 
ture <; God over all blefied for evermore." At prefent 
I (hall adduce a few fele6t arguments, in dire£t proof of 
this point ; leaving fome other things, that belong to the 
fubjecl:, to be difcufTed in the fubfequent effay. 

I. The reader will naturally turn his thoughts to thofe 
Scriptures, in which Jefus Chrift is exprefsly called 
GOD, and LORD. " Without controverfy," fays the 
Apoftle, «« great is the myftery of godlinefs, God was 
" manifeft in the flefh*." He not only allows his doc- 
trine to be very myfterious, but even appears to glory 
in it as " the great myftery of godlinefs £* and it could 
not be controverted, nor denied, that it was a great 
myftery. "We may therefore be fure, that they, who 
would fo interpret the words, as to render his doctrine 
fcarcely myfterious at all, do not underftand them : but 
all they, who fuppofe him to mean that Jefus was Em- 
manuel, God with us ; that the child born at Bethle- 
hem was the mighty God, as the prophet foretold ; con- 
fider his proposition both as a great myftery, and as 
the fource, centre, and fupport of godlinefsf. It 
would be fuperfluous, in this brief attempt, to do more 
than refer the reader to the well known paflages to this 
efre&f, and to intreat him to read with attention as 
the word of God, and with earneft prayer to be en- 
abled to underftand and believe them : for it feems im- 
poilible for human language to exprefs any fentiment 



* 1 Ti'-n. iii. 16. t Isaiah, vii. 14. ix. 6. 

% John,i.]....18. Phil. ii. 5....S. Col. i. 15... .17. Heb, i. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 86 

more ftrongly than they do the Deity of Chrift. He, 
" who was in the beginning with God, and was God ; 
" who made all things," fo that '« without him was not 
" a; y thing made that was made ;" " by whom, and 
"for whom, all things were created, and by whom all 
« things confift," and who " upholds all things by the 
" word of his power ;" muft be " God over all, blef- 
" fed for evermore :" for " he that made all things is 
" God," which furely none but an avowed atheift will 
deny. 

Thefe, and feveral other paffages of this kind, will 
come again under coniideration, towards the clofe of 
this efTay : and this firft argument may be concluded by 
intreating the reader to confider what the Apoftle could 
mean by faying c The fecond man is the Lord from 
" heaven," if Chrift be only a mere man or a created 
being ? 

II. Several texts of the Old Teftament concerning 
Jehovah are applied in the New to Chrift. The Pro- 
phet declares, " that whofoever mall call on the name 
«' of Jehovah mall be delivered :" and the Apoftle ex- 
prefsly refers this to Chriftf : for he adds " how fhall 
(t they call on him of whom they have not heard ? or 
" how fhall they hear without a preacher ?" It is mani- 
feft, that Joel predi£ted the judgments, which awaited 
the Jews for rejecting the MeffiahJ : certainly they did 
very earneftly call upon Jehovah, the God of their 
fathers to deliver them from the power of the Romans : 
yet they were not delivered, becaufe they would not 
join with thofe who called on the name of Jefus : and 
they only who called on him were faved. As therefore 
the Scripture cannot be broken, Chrift muft be Jeho- 
vah ; Paul confidered him as fuch, and the event de- 
monftrated him to be fo. — The Pfalmift fays " Tqfte 
" and fee, that Jehovah is good ♦," to this the Apoftle 
manifeftly refers, when he ufes thefe words, " If fo 
*' be, ye have tajied that the Lord is gracious — to whom 
" coming as to a living Stone, &c ;" and in what follows, 
the attentive reader will perceive, that he applies to 



* 1 Cor. xv. 47. f Joel, ii. 32. Rom. x. 13. 

A cis, ii. 16....21. 

H 2 



86 On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

Chrift in the moft unreferved manner, what the Prophet 
had fpoken of •< Jehovah, God of hofts himfelf*." — 
Ifaiah had a moil extraordinary vifion of Jehovah in his 
temple : and the Evangelift declares that " he then faw 
" the glory of Chrift, and fpake of himf."— Paul ap- 
plies to Chrift's coming to judgment what the fame 
Prophet had written of Jehovah fwearing by himfelf, 
that " every knee mould bow to him, and every tongue 
" confefs to God J:" Indeed the whole palTage referred 
to, efpecially the laft verfe, « In Jehovah fhall all the 
" feed of Ifrael be juftified, and fliall glory," proves 
that Emmanuel was efpecially meant, in whom alone 
believers are juftified and glory §. Inftances of this 
kind might be eafily multiplied, did not brevity forbid : 
but I would reft the argument principally on thofe which 
follow. Jehovah, fpeaking to Mofes, declared his felf- 
exiftent, immutable, and eternal Deity, by faying, I 
AM THAT I AM; and ordered him to inform Ifrael 
" that I AM had fent him to them :" This Chrift ex- 
prefsly applied to himfelf when he faid to the Jews, 
« Before Abraham was, I AM." Had he faid < be- 
* fore Abraham was, i" was> it would fufficiently have 
proved his pre-exiftence to all who believe him to be 
Truth, or to fpeak truth : but we cannot affix any mean- 
ing to the words, as they now ftand, unkfs we allow 
Him to be the eternal God. This his enemies of old 
clearly perceived, and therefore they went about to 
ftone him for blafphemy : nor can they who deem him 
only a man fairly difTent from the verdict. ; however it 
may be convenient to them to palliate the language in 
queftion. Should we render the words " I AM HE f 
they are then equivalent to thofe of Jehovah, «* Be- 
" fore the day was I AM HE || ;" and the ufe of the 
prefent tenfe, with reference to Abraham who lived fo 
many ages before, perfectly difcriminates this paflage 
from all others, in which the fame expreffion is ufed 
either by our Lord or any other perfon**. Indeed the 



* Ps. xxxiv. 8. Isaiah, viii. 13....15. xxviii. 16. 1 Ptt. ii. 3....8. 

f Isaiah, vi. John xii. 39.. ..42. 

j Isaiah, xlv. 21....25. Rom. xiv. 9....12. § 1 Cor. i, 30, ol. 

i| Isaiah, xliii, 13. *"* Exod. iii. 14, Joiin, viii. 58. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 87 

language of the pafTage in Exodus, and that of Luke 
concerning it*, lead us to confider the eternal Son, the 
great Angel of the covenant, as fpeaker on this occa- 
fion -, and whoever attentively compares the appearances 
of Jehovah to Abraham, Mofes, Jofhua, Gideon, and 
many others ; with the words of the Evangelift, " No 
" man hath feen God at any time, the only begotten 
" Son — hath declared him •," will be apt to conclude 
that all thefe were difcoveries of that very perfon in 
the form of 'God ', who afterwards appeared in the form of 

afervant. gain, Ifaiah introduces Jehovah, faying, 

" 1 am the firft and I am the laft, and befides me there 
M is no God." This Chrift, appearing in vifion to 
John, exprefsly and repeatedly claimed to himfelf. 
" Fear not, I am the firft and the laft : I am he that 
" liveth and was dead, and am alive for evermoref." 
How can any reasonable man fuppofe, that Jefus, had 
he been no more than a mere creature, would have 
ufed fuch language of himfelf, and appropriated the 
very words by which Jehovah declared his own eternal 
power and Godhead;}; ? Finally, Jehovah claims it as his 
prerogative «« to fearch the hearts, and try the reins :" 
and Chrift mod emphatically fays, " and all the church- 
" es fhall know that I am He> which fearcheth the reins 
« and hearts §." Did any holy Being ever ufe fuch lan- 
guage ? Or would the holy Jefus, if he had not been 
One with, and Equal to, the eternal Father ? 

III. We may next confider fome things, which 
Chrift fpoke of himfelf, or his difciples concerning him, 
as manifeft proofs of his Deity. " Deftroy," fays he, 
" this temple, and m three days I will raife it up again : 
*' but he fpake of the temple of his body [| ." Not to 
infill on the appropriate fenfe in which he called his 
body a temple, as the immediate refidence of his De'ty; 
I would enquire whether it be not an act of divine pow- 
er to raife the dead ? whether any mere man ever raif- 
ed his own body, after he had been violently put to 



*.Acts, vii. o0....37. 

t Is. xliv. 6. Rev i. 8. 11. 17. 18. ii. 8. xxii. 13. 

-t Isaiah, xli. 4. xliii. 10.. ..1". xlviu. 11, 12. 

5 J«. xvii. 10. Rev. ii. 23. || Mm ii. 19....21. 



8b- On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

death? and whether God.. did not actually raife again 
the man Chrift Jefus ? The obvious anfwer to thefe 
queftions will evince, that Chrift had a nature ,diftin£fc 
from his manhood ; that He was truly God as one with 
the Father ; that He had " power to lay down his life, 
* c and power to take it again /' and that by fo doing he 
proved himfelf to be the Son of God, in that fenfe 
which the Jews deemed blafphemy : for that was the 
crime ailedged againft him, and which they fuppofed 
to be blafphemy by their law*. — Again, « I will," faith 
Chrift to his difciples, " give you a mouth and wifdom •, 
" which none of your enemies (hall be able to gainfay, 
e< or refill :" now who can give a mouth and nvifdcm but 
God onlyf ? DidJany mere man or holy creature ever 
advance fuch a clpim, or induce others to form fuch 
• expectations from ^iim ? Yet according to this promife, 
the Evangelift fays, « r Then opened he their underftand- 
** ings to underftand the Scripturest." — To Nicodemus, , 
who was aftpniihed at his difcourfe on regeneration, 
he faid,- <: If I have told you earthly things, and ye 
*' believe not, how (hall ye believe, if I te 1 you of 
" heavenly things ? And no man hath afcended into 
u heaven, but that came down from heaven, even the 
c< Son of Man nvho is in heaven J." But in what fenfe 
could the Son of man be faid c< to come down from 
" heaven, af!d at the fame time to be in heaven," even 
€t when he was fpeaking on earth : if there had not been 
fuch an intimate union between the man Chrift Jefus, 
and the Word, which " in the beginning was with 
<; God, and was God," that what belonged to the one 
nature might properly be faid of the other ? Thus it is 
faid that " God purchafed the church with his oiun 
" blood •," becaufe He, who fhed his blood, was God 
as well as mam In like manner < k the Son of Man was 
" in heaven,' ; becaufe that Perfon, whofe omniprefence 
filled the heavens was alfo the Son of Man : and this 
was doubtle s a fpecimen oithofe heavenly things, which 
are far more myfterious than regeneration. — The fame 



* John, xix. 7, 
t Exod. iv. 11. Prov. il. 6. Luke, xzi. 15. | Luke xxiv. 45, 
:§ John, :>.. 12.13. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 89 

conclusions may undeniably b drawn from our Lord's 
woTds.. when he fays, * l Where two or three are gath- 
" ered together in my Name, the*e am I in the midft 
" of you j" and, " Lo. I am with you always even to 
" the end of the world*. " 1 hefe are certainly equivalent 
to the promifes of Jehovah in the Old Teftament that 
he would be with his people in all their trials ; and can 
by no ingenuity be feparated from the attribute of om- 
niprefence : for Chrift, as Man, is in heaven, and not 
perfonally prefent with his minifters and congrega- 
tions — No one," fays He, " knoweth who the Son 
" is. but the Father ; neither knoweth any one who 
" the Father is fave the Son ; and he to whom the Son 
" will reveal himf. Can any man deity this to be an af- 
fertion that the -Son is equal y incofnprehenfible with 
the Father •, and a declaration that all knowledge of God 
is erroneous which is not learned by faith in him ? 

When he was called to account, (probably before the 
fanhedrim,) for healing on the fabbath d«yj *, he an- 
fwered, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work ;" 
and the Jews confidered this as a declaration, that, 
« God was his own Father," and as f < making himfelf 
"equal with God" His fub equent difeourfe"* in 
which he ftated hit. unio: r . ofcounfel a^d operation with 
the Father, and often referred to his human nature and 
mediatorial undertaking has been frequentfy mifunder- 
ftood : but furely He who fpoke of " quickening whom 
** he would," of • • having life in himfelf," and of being 
" honoured by all men, even as they honoured the Fa- 
ther that fent him,' cannot be thought to have objected 
to the inference, which had been drawn from his firft 
afTertion. — In like manner, when he had faid, " 1 and 
" my Father are One," one Being or Oeity, (Ssrv, numen^) 
and the Jews charged him with blafphemy, «■ becaufe 
" being a man he made himfelf God ;" his anfwer, 
which concludes thus, " that ye may know, and be- 
" lieve, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me," 
co lid not be intended as a denial of their allegation ; 
though we fhould allow that he waved the further dif- 



fflatt. xvitf. 20, xzfiv.. SO. f Mit^. xi. 2?. Luke, x*22, 
| John, v. 



90 On the Deity of Christ.' Essay VI, 

euflion of the fubject., by referring to the langiiage of 
Scripture concerning magistrates as types of the MeiTiah. 
The Jews at leaft did not fo underftand him ; for they 
renewed their attempts to feize and (tone him as a blaf- 
phemer*. It would not confift with brevity to confidet 
particularly our Lord's words to Martha, " I am the 
u Refurre&ion and the Life, &c ;" his reply to Philip, 
H He that hath feen me, hath fee n the Father. — I am in 
« the Father, arid the Father in me," with other ex- 
preilions of his laft difcourfe with his difciples, "They 
" have both feen and hated both me, and my Father"— 
" All things that the Father hath are mine" — " Glorify 
" thou me with thine ownfelf , with the glory, which I 
" had with thee before the world was." " All mine," 
(in the neuter gender^ implying all things, as well as aH 
per/on*,) " are thine, and thine are mine/' and others 
of (imilar importf. If Chrift be no more than a man, 
or a created being, fuch language can only ferve to per- 
plex a plain fubjecl:, and miflead a (imple reader : and 
it is evident, that much learning ingenuity, and labour 
are required to put any plauiible fenfe upon it, when 
his Deity U denied.- 

But our Lord's repeated promifes of fending the 
" Holy Spirit, t# convince the world of fin, righteouf- 
" nefs and judgment," to glorify him," and to teach 
and comfort his difciples, require a more particular con- 
sideration. Without anticipating the fubje£t of a future 
EfTay, on the Deity and Perfonality of the Holy Spirit, 
we may afTert without hefitation, that fuch promifeg 
could not properly have been given by any mere fervant 
of God. The Holy Spirit mult denote either a divine 
Perfon, or the one living and true God operating in a 
peculiar manner on the minds of men : and is it not 
palpably abfurd to fuppofe, that any mere creature 
{hould dire£t, or fend, the Spirit of God, in either of 
thefe fenfes ? The Believer's union with Chrift, and 
with the Father through him, has fometimes been con- 
sidered as coincident with our Lord's union with the 
Father : but can it be thought, that any Chnftlan is one 



* John, x. 2?....39. 

f John, xi. 25. xiv, 7 10. xvi. 15....24, xvii, 5....1& 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 91 

with God in fuch a fenfe, that the Holy Spirit may as 
properly be called his Spirit, as the Spirit of God '? 
Yet He is frequently called .the Spirit of Chrift, as 
fent by and proceeding from him*. Indeed the words 
of Chrift, by which the promife of the Spirit is intro-^ 
duccd> are very remarkable j " Whatfoever ye afk in my 
" name, I will do it\ /" 

The language of his difciples fhould alfo be noticed* 
They repeatedly obferve, " that he knew the thoughts of 
" men :' and John exprefsly fays, that " he knew all 
S men ; and needed not that any fhould teftify of man, 
" for he knew what was in man\^ If this were not an 
undeniable afcription of omnifcience ; yet Peter certain- 
ly appealed to that divine attribute without any referve, 
when he (aid, "Lord, thouknowejl all things, thou knoweft 
<J that I love thee§." The attentive reader of the 
Evangelifts will obferve for himfelf many expreffions of 
a fimiiar nature, which are never ufed of Prophets, 
Apoities, or Angels : thefe ferve to fhew us what the 
difciples thought of their Lord. Thus John remarks, 
that by hi » miracles " he manifefted forth his glory :" 
whereas all other Prophets and Saints referred all their 
works to the glory of God aloneI|. 

The teftimony of John Baptift is peculiarly important 
in this enquiry. "He was filled with the Holy Ghoft 
" from his mother's womb 5? being, more than a pro- 
" phet," and " great in the fight of the Lord above all 
" that had been born of a woman**." Yet he deemed 
himfelf i( unworthy to loofe theRedeemer's fhoelatchet;" 
lu declared, that " of his fulnefs he and all" his fellow 
fervants " had received," that " he needed to be bap- 
" tized of him," and that " Chrift came from heaven, 
" and was above all." And though Jefus was the 
younger man, yet John affigned as the reafon why he 
was preferred before him, * that he was before him," 
which is abfolutely decifive in refpe£l of his pre-exiit- 



* John, xv. _6. xvi. 7, 10, 13, 15. xvii. 21. Rom. viii. 9....11 

f Jjhn, xiv. 13=.., 18. 

\ John, ii. 25. 2 Chron. vi. 30. Jer. xvii. 9, 10. 

§ John> xxi. 17. j! John, ii. 11. 

** Lukv, 1. 15. vii. 26„..3& 



92 On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

ence*. To fuch a degree did this mod excellent fervant 
of God abafe himfelf, and exalt the Saviour ! and in this 
he was a perfect contrail to thofe, who manifeftly exalt 
themfelves and degrade Him. J he words of Gabriel to 
Zacharias concerning John are alfo very remarkable ; 
" Many of the children of Ifrael fhall he turn to the 
" Lord their God , an J he mail go before Him," (even 
before the Lord his God,) " in the fpirit and power of 
" Elias." John was the forerunner of Chrift, and was 
fent to prepare his way before him: who then can 
doubt, but the angel considered the Mefliah, (that was 
about to appear as Emmanuel,) to be the Lord God of 
Ifrael ? This the prophets had foretold, and one of them 
calls the Meffiah the Angel of the Covenant, Jehovahf . 
We find Jehovah of Hosts repeatedly faying to another 
prophet, "thou malt know that Jehovah of Hosts 
" hath fent me to thee|. And when the World became 
ct flefh, and tabernacled among men," all his true dif- 
li ciples i( faw his glory •, the glory as of the only be- 
gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth§." 

IV The works, which. Chrift hath Undertaken, or 
performed, evince his Deity. He, " who created all 
" things, and upholds them by the word of his power," 
" came a Light into the world,'' u to be the Light of the 
" world/' and to "enlighten every man that cometh 
" into the world ||." That eternal Life which was with 
the Father, was manifefted to be the life of men**'. He 
hath engaged to give eternal life to all his true difciples, 
notwithftanding the oppofition of their enemies ; to 
prepare manfions in heaven for them"; to receive them to 
himfelf; to raife the dead by his word ; to judge the 
whole world ; and to deftroy all his adverfaries u with 
u everlafting deftru£tion, from his prefence and from 
" the glory of his power," by which " he is able even 
« c to fubdue all things unto himfelf*** :" and can any 
thing except omnipotence and omnifcience fulfil thefe 



* Matt. iii. 11. ...14. Mind. 15, 16. iii. 27.. .,36. 

f Luke,i. H5, 17. Isaiah, xl. 3, 4, 10,11. MUKchi, iii. 1. 

j Zee. h. 8....1 1. vi. 1 2...15. xih. 7. § John, i. 14. 

|| John, i, 4....Q. xii. 46. ** 1 John, i. l. lt .3. 

*** 2'fhess, 1. 7., .10. Phil. iii. 21. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. . 93 

engagements ?— The Apoftle fpeaks of Chriftians, as 
" looking for the glorious appearance of the great God, 
" and our Saviour Jefus Chrift* :" now the great God 
will not appear at the day of judgment, in his Effence, 
(for no man hath feen nor can fee him :) but Chrift will 
appear, as the great God our Saviour and Judge, in his 
own glory as Mediator, and in the glory of the Father • 
exercifing ail divine perfections with fovereign authori- 
ty before the whole world : and indeed his language 
refpefting that decifive feafon is uniformly majtrftick be- 
yond expreffion, as every attentive reader muft perceive. 
He is likewife " exalted to give repentance ; " he is " the 
" Author and Finifher of faith " and even, when he 
"was in the form of a Servant," « he had po er on 
« earth to forgive fins. ' « He has the keys of death 
« and the invifible world :" « Angels, principalities, 
" and powers are fuhjecl: to him ;" nay they are " the 
« angels of his power ; and « all creatures ferve him." 
— Who then is this « Son of David ? ' Is he not « the 
" Son of God: 5 " Is -he not the Root, as well as the 
Offspring, of David? who for that reafon, « in Spirit 
« called him his Lord/' many ages before he became his 
« Son ? for He is « the Lord of all," « the Lord of 
" Glory," and "the Prince of life." 

It muft be evidently abfurd to afcribe all this to a de- 
rived and delegated power ; for how can omnipotence 
ommfcience : or omniprefence be communicated, or ex* 
ercifed by a mere creature ? But indeed Jehovah ex 
prefsly declares, that « He made all things by himfelf • » 
" and « will not give his glory to another ;" and that 
" there is no God and Saviour befides Himf " The 
manner likewife in which Chrift wrought his miracles 
m general without the leaft appearance of relying on anv 
power but his own, was very different from that of 
Prophets or Apoftles : for while they took great care to 
have it underftood, that they were merely the inftru 
mentsof him in whofe name they fpoke, left honour 
mould be afcnbed to them ; he authoritatively iff ue d his 
mandates in his own name, evidently wrought by his 
own power, and manifefted forth his own glory. 

* Tit.ii.13. f Is xliii.10. ll.^liv. 8.24. 



94 On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

^ V. This appears Hill more conclufively in the beha- 
viour of our Lord towards thofe who honoured him. 
The fervants of God have always decidedly refufed every 
kind and degree of honour {hewn them, which feemed 
to interfere with the glory of God ; and the Scriptures 
referred to, muft put this beyond all doubt* : yet it is ob- 
vious, that jefus did not objecl: to fimilar honours ; nay 
that he moil honoured thofe, who u thus honoured 
« himf ;" and approved of men in exacl: proportion, as 
they had high thoughts of him and large expectations 
from him. Nor is there a fingle exception to this rule 
in his whole hiftory ; for his anfwer to the young ruler, 
who called him * good Teacher," was in faft an inti- 
mation that he did not think highly enough of him and 
mifapplied the epithet good to one whom he deemed a 
mere manlike himfelf. — When the centurion compared 
his power over all difeafes, even in fuch perfons as were 
at a diftance, to his own authority over his foldiers and 
fervants •, Chrifr highly commended the greafnefs of 
his faith:};. — When the afflicted parent befought him 
"to help his unbelief ^" and when the difciples defired 
him " to increafe their faith •" no intimation was given 
that their language was improper : but who can believe 
that Apoftles would have approved of fuch reqneits be- 
ing made to them§ ? — He received without referve that 
proftration, or worfbip, againft. which Prcph< ts, Apof- 
tles, and Angels refolutely protefted when paid to 
themj| : and when various opinions were formed of 
him, he always beft approved of thofe that thought mod: 
highly of him, and even fuggefted ftill more exalted 
apprehenfions of his glory**. Now how can we ac- 
count for this ? Mull we not conclude, either that the 
fervants were more humble, and more jealous of the 
glory of God, than his beloved Son : or that Chrift 
was confcious, " all men ought to honour Him, even 



* Gen. xii. 16. Dan. ii. 28.. ..30. Acts, iii. 12, 13. x. 25, 26. xiv 

14, 15. Rev. xix. 10. xxii. 9. 
t 1 Sam: ii. 30* j Matt. viii. 8. ...10. 

§ Mark, ix. 24. Luke. xvii. 5. 
]| Matt. viii. 2. xv. 25. Luke, xvii. 16. 
** Matt. xvi. 13....19. John, xi. 12....17. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 95 

" as ihey honoured the Father i" for it is manifeft that 
he readily accepted of thofe honours, which they molt 
ftrenuoufly rejected. 

VI. I'iie undeniable inftances of divine worfhip paid 
to Chrift conititute another mod conclufive argument. 
Worfhip, (properly fo called,) is an afcription of the 
peculiar honours of the Deity to any Being. To fup- 
plicate a creature, though v'ylbly prefent, for thofe blef- 
fmgs which God alone can beftow, is idolatry ; be- 
caufe omnipotence is afcribed to a creature. And it is 
the fame to pray to any being, when not fenfihly prefent, 
even for fuch deliverances, as a^ creature might afford : 
becaufe it afcribes 'to that creature om^iiprefence^ or 
omnifaenct ' ; which proves all the prayers of Papifts to 
Saints and Angels to be idolatry. The petit ons before 
mentioned, for « increafe of faith," were acts of wor- 
fhip paid to Chrift : as was the addrefs of Thomas, 
" my Lord and my God :" nor would any holy man or 
Aug -l have received them. — The form of baptifm, w in 
" the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
" Ghoft," muff, be confidered as an appointed adoration 
of the Son, and Holy Spirit, equally with the Father; 
or we muft admit the greateft abfurdities. — No doubt 
Stephen worffnpped Chrift when he prayed to him to 
receive his fpirit, and not to impute his death to his 
murderers : or on fimilar grounds we might deny 
Chrift's own prayers to the fame efFe£t, when he hung 
on the crofs, to be an adoration of the Father*. — What 
candid p :rfon can deny, that Paul addreffed Chrift, 
concerning ?• the thorn in his flefh ; for when the Lord 
" anfwered, that " his grace was fufficierit for him," 
he even " gloried in his infirmities, that the power of 
" Chrijl might reft upon himf ?" Did he not pray to 
Chrift when he faid, * c now God himfelf and our Father, 
" and the Lord Jefus Chrift, direct our way unto you ?" 
And " now our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, and God 
" even our Father, comfort your hearts, and eftablifh 
« you in every good word and work;}: ?" Such inftances 



* Luke, xxiii. 34. 46. Acts, vii. 59, 60. 

f 2 Cor. xii. ?'....10. 

1 1 Thess. iii. 11....13. 2 Thess. ii. 16, 17. 



f S6 On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

fhew how familiar it was to the -Apoftles " to honour 
" the Son, even as he honoured the Father •" and as 
tending to the " glory of God the Father*." — The apof- 
tolical bleffing is an acT of worfhip coincident with that 
appointed by Mofes f \ yet Chrift and the Holy Spirit 
are joined in it : and doubtlefs he was prayed to, when- 
ever " grace and peace," (the fum of all fpiritual blef- 
fings,) were fought " from God our Father, and from 
" our Lord Jefus Chrift." Indeed it was the grand 
peculiarity of Chriftians, that " they called on the 
" name of the Lord jefus;j:;" and thofe who have at- 
tempted to interpret fuch expreffions in fome other fenfe, 
do as little credit to their critical talents as to their or- 
thodoxy. Not to multiply inftances, to which fome 
pofhble objection might be made ; the words of Peter§ 
-are incapable of any other conftru£rion. " Crow in 
t( grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
"' Jefus C hrift ; to hifn be glory both now and for ever, 
« Amen." 

As all the Angels of God were commanded to wor- 
fhip his incarnate Son ; fo, when a door was opened in 
heaven, the whole angelick holt is introduced as join- 
ing the company of redeemed finners, in afcribi -g eter- 
nal honour and praife to " the Lamb that was flain," 
" in union with " Him that fitteth on the Throne|| :" 
no words can poffibly be more emphatica; than thofe 
ufed on thefe occafions. Can any man, therefore, after 
reading them, afTert that Chrift is a mere created being ? 
or that it is idolatry to worfhip him ? Or will he pre- 
tend to believe that JBook to be « the unerring word of 
" God ?" or can he disapprove its divine infpiration ; 
when its prophecies have been fo remarkably accom- 
plifhed ? This fhews that our verfion is faithful in another 
place**', and that every Chriftian ought to join the faints 
of old, in faying, " Unto him that loved us, and 
" warned us from our fins in his own blood, — be glory 
" and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 



* Phil. ii. 11. f Numb. vi. 24..,.27. 2 Cor. km. 14. 
J Acts, ix. 14. 21. 1 Cor. i. 2. § % Pct.iii. 18. 
I! Rev. v. vii. ** Rev, i. 5. 6. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 97 

VII. Laftly, our do&rine is confirmed by the ab- 
furdities into which its molt able oppofers have been 
driven. Such men have principally laboured to invali- 
date thofe texts, that feem moft explicit on the fubje£r. : 
though we could prove our doctrine, even if thefe evi- 
dences were fet afide. For this reafon I have omitted 
one teftimony, which is decifive, if genuine, (as upon 
the whole I fuppofe it to be ;) becaufe its authenticity 
has been fo much difputed*. — A fhort fpecimen, how- 
ever, may fhew with what fuccefs they who deny the 
Deity o£ Chrift have laboured. The Pfalmift, and 
from him the Apcftle fays of the Meffiah, " Thy throne, 
" O God, i a for ever and everf ." To elude the obvious 
inference from this text, it hath been fajd, that the 
words may be rendered, i: God is thy throne for ever 
" and ever." We read that heaven is God's throne, 
and the earth is his footstool ; but who can conceive 
God himfelf to be the throne, on which a creature 
mould reign to eternity ? — Inftead of " God was mani- 
(i felt in the fkfh ;" fome would read it, " who was 
" manifefted in rhe flelh ;" in which cafe God mull be 
the antecedent, as the context (hews \ and then the 
fenfe remains precifely the famej Others would read 
it si which (myjleryj was manifefted in the flefh j" and 
then which myftery muft be the nominative cafe to all 
the fubfequent chufes in the verfe : but whatever may 
bethought of the other propofitions, <r which myftery 
M was received up into glory" will fcarcely be deemed 
the language of infpiration, by any who do not prefer 
nonfenfe to orthodoxy. — But fometimes thefe perfons 
feem difpofed to retain our reading, and to explain the 
exprelnon to mean, < that the wifdom and power of 
t God were confpicuous in Chrift ;' which would be 
alfo true of Peter, or Mofes j and fo this great myftery 
of godlinefs at length is found to be no myftery at all ! 
When incredulous Thomas was at laft convinced of 
Chrift' s refurredtion, he exclaimed, " My Lord and 
" my God !" And it cannot feem wonderful to thofe, 



1 John, v. 7, 8. f Ps. xlv. 6, 7, Heb. i. 8. 9* 

1 Tira. iii. 15, 16» 

12 



9S On the Deity of Christ. Essay VI. 

who confider that he knew the Meffiah was to be called 
Emmanuel, and had heard him fay, " he that hath feen 
" me hath feen the Father," that he mould be convin- 
ced of his Deity by his refurre£tion from the dead*. 
To fet afide this teftimony, it hath been faid, that the 
Apoftle's words were the language of aftonifhment, and 
not of adoration ; as men often exclaim, my God, when 
greatly furprifed. But are not fuch exclamations 'mani- 
feft violations of the third commandment, and certain 
proofs of men's irreverent contempt of the name of 
God ? Who then can believe, that the Apoftles ufed 
fuch profane language before Chrift, without meeting 
with the leaft reproof for rtf ? Surely fuch a folution 
muft be improbable in the higheft degree ; and thev, 
who can admit it, have no right to defpife other men's 
credulity ' But indeed, the words cannot admit of any 
fucK conftru£tion, confiftently with the idiom of the 
original language. 

That molt auguft paflage, with which John opens 
his gofpel, has been fo conftrued, in order to evade 
our inference from it, that the nominative cafe to the 
verbs ufed in it muftbe changed again and again with- 
out the leaft intimation given of it; contrary to all the 
rules of grammar. By others, the Word is fuppofed 
to mean nothing more, than the energy or power of 
God, which was eternally with him and eflential to him, 
bv which he made the world, and which was manifest- 
ed in the man Jefus : but can any one in his fenfes fup- 
pofe, that this was all the meaning of the Apoftles in- 
troduction to his gofpel, of the fublime things he fays 
of the Word, and of his becoming flefh and dwelling 
among us ? If any one fhould think fo for a moment, 
a fecond attentive perufal muft furely convince him of 
his miftake. Aware of this, it is now deemed conve- 
nient to fet it afide as no part of revelation ! 

The interpretation, given of another decifive evi- 
dence^:, is grounded on a propofed different tranflation, 
implying * that Chrift did not think of fuch a robbery, 



* John, xx, £6....31. Rom, i. 2, 3. t Matt, v. ST. 

J Phil. ii. 5... .10. 



Essay VI. On the Deity of Christ. 99 

« as that of being equal with God.' But, not to men- 
tion the various expreifions ufed by our Lord, which 
certainly were thus underitood by the Jews \ who can 
believe, that the Apoftle mould propofe to his brethren, 
as a perfeel examph of humility, the conduct of a mere 
man or creature, who barely did not claim equality with 
the eternal God : when at bed, this could be no more 
than an exemption from the very fummit of all poffible 
pride and ambition ? His argument, (as well as the 
meaning of the words,) proves that " in the form of 
" God" fignifies, being truly God and appearing fo ; 
even as the form of afervant and the jafhion of a man 
fignify being truly man : and how could a mere crea- 
ture " take upon him the form of a fervant," feeing he 
muft always have been a fervant of his Maker ? 

The Apoftle, fpeaking of the patriarchs*, faid, " of 
§i whom, as concerning the fe/h, Chrift came, who is 
" over all God blefTed for ever, Amen." To evade 
this decifive teftimony it has been propofed to render 
the latter claufe, il God be blejfed for ever, Amen." But 
where then is the meaning of the preceding expreffion, 
" as concerning the flefh P" Did ever a fenfible writer 
ufe fuch language concerning the defcent of any prince 
or hero ? Does not the energy and propriety of the paf- 
fage depend on the contraft between the elaufes, ' of 
" whom as concerning the flefh Chrift came;" and 
" who is over all God blefTed for ever ?" And do you 
not convert it into unmeaning abfurdity by fuch a 
change in the verfion ? 

Stephen's dying addrefs to Chrift has lately been con- 
fidered, * as the words of a man*, in an extacy of de- 
< votion, or in the agonies of death,' and therefore not 
of much weight in the argument : as if modern rea- 
foners could better direct our faith and worfhip, than 
this protomartyr, when full of the Holy Ghoft, favour- 
ed with the vifions of Gcd, and replete with the light 
of Heaven !■ — " ye know the grace of our Lord Jefus 
*! Chriit ; that though he was rich yet for your fakes 
" he became poor P" What fhail we fay to Paul's wordsf ? 



Rom. ix. 5. t 2 Gor. viii. 9. 



100 On the Deity of Christ. Essay Vl 

Could he, who was born in a liable, had not where to 
lay his head, and died on a crofs, be rich before he 
was poor ; if he had not exifted before he became a 
man ? — The words of Chrift, which his difciples 
thought fo plain " I came forth from the Father, and 
(i am come into the world ; again 1 leave the world and 
" go to the Father*," and many other declarations he 
made, " that he came down from heaven," fo prefled 
the ancient Socinians, as to induce them to feign that 
Jefus, like Mahomet, went to heaven to receive his in- 
flru£lions> previoufly to his entrarice on his miniftry. 
But modern Socinians have given up this figment ; they 
feem confcious of their inability to maintain their old 
ground ; and therefore, they now intimate that Apof- 
tles and Evangelifts wer.e 'mifbken, and that feveral 
books or parts of the Scrip, ure are not, authentic, or 
not divinely infpired. Thus they fave themfelves much 
trouble by anfwering all our witnefTes at once: and 
doubtlefs, they a£l prudently in imitating the church of 
Rome ; confirming themfelves judges of the Scripture, 
determining what parts of it are divine, and making 
their own fcheme the ftandard, by which it is to be in- 
terpreted : for neither of their fyflems can fubflft, ex- 
cept by a proportionable difregard to and degradation of 
the word of God. 

1 feel a confidence, that each of the arguments here 
adduced are feparately concluiive : how great then mufl 
be the united force of them ? Yet only a fmall part of 
the evidence can be contained in fo brief an efTay. I 
would, therefore conclude, with obferving, that the 
Scriptures were written to recover men from idolatry, 
to the worfhip of the true God : and that idolatry con- 
fifts in worfhipping fuch as by nature are no gods. What 
then {hall we think of all the texts here adduced, if 
Chrift be not God ? or what mall we fay to John's con- 
clufion of his firil epiftW Having mentioned jefus 
Chrift, he adds, " This peifon [ov\os) " is the true God, 
" and eternal Life. Little children, keep yourfelves 
« from idols-}-." 

* John, xvi. 28. f 1 John, v. 20, 21. 



Wi 



ESSAY VII. 



Shewing the Doclrine of our Lord's Deity to be es- 
sential to Christianity ; with a brief Answer to 
some Objeclions. 

E are not m all cafes capable of determining 
exactly what things are eflential to our holy religion, 
and what are not ; yet the Scriptures moil evidently de- 
clare fome particulars to be fo ; and I cannot but con- 
fider the doctrine of our Lord's Deity as one of thefe 
effentials, nor hefitate to fay that Chriftianity itfelf niuft 
ftand or fall with it. The greater decifion is proper on 
this fubje£t, as our opponents feem lately to have fhifted 
their ground. * They ufed to maintain that Chrift's 

* divinity was the mafter- piece of abfurdities — directly 
< contrary to every part of natural and, revealed religion, 
c and to all the rational faculties God has given us : ? 

* that by making more gods than one, it was a breach 
■■* of the firft commandment,' and much more to the 
fame purpofe. This was a direct charge of grofs idola- 
try, which furely mull be a mortal lin : and as the de- 
fenders of the doctrine denied, and even retorted, the 
charge, (hewing that another god is fubftituted by So- 
cinians in the place of the God of the Bible ; the caufe 
was fairly at iflue, allowed to be of the greater! pofhble 
importance, and entitled to the moft careful, ferious, 
and impartial inveftigation. But at prefent men are ge- 
nerally put oft their guard by the plaufible and indolent 
fentiment, that fpeculative opinions are of little confe- 
quence \ and that thofe, who "are fincere and lead good 
lives- will not be condemned for doctrinal errors. And 
an attempt has lately been made, by a champion of the 



102 On the Doclrine Essay VII. 

party*, to perfuade a very large body of men, who uni- 
verfally profefs the doctrine of Chrift's Deity, that there 
is no effential difference between them and the Socini- 
ans ! On the other hand, fome able defenders of the 
do£trjne feem difpofed to allow, that the belief of it is 
not neceffary to falvation, or effential to Chriftianity.j 
nay, that they who moil (Irenuoufly oppofe it : and not 
always in the moft unexceptionable manner, may not- 
wit'iftanding be accepted of God as fincere believers. 
Thus the fubje£t, which -ufed to be confidered as of the 
utmofl importance, is now generally thought to be rather 
a matter of doubtful disputation among Chriftians, than 
immediately connected with our eternal interefts : and 
the caufe hath more to fear from the indolent and con- 
temptuous indifference of mankind, as to theological 
queftions w hich are not fuppofed effential to falvation, 
than from the moft flrenuous, and ingenious efforts of 
its very able and learned opponents. 

I (hall therefore endeavour, in this place, to fhew 
that the doctrine of our Lord's Deity is effential to the 
faith and hope of a Chriftian * and this will lead our 
attention to many arguments in proof of it which were 
not produced in" the former Effiy 

I. There are feveral texts of Scripture, which ex- 
prefsly decide on the fubje£fc. The Lord Jems himfelf 
declares, that " the Father hath committed all judg- 
" ment to the Son ; that all men fhould honour the 
" Son s even as they honour the Father -, lie that hon- 
" oureth not the Son, honour eth not the Father that fent 
u hi ..« f." If the very end of his mediatory mthority, 
as the Son of man, were this, " that all .nen mould 
" honour hirn" with the fame kind and degree of hon- 
our that is (hewn to the Father j and this muff be the 
cafe if our doclrine be true : then fuch perfons, as deny 
his Deity ; refufe to worfhip him , and fpend their 
lives, with ail their ability, influence, and diligence, to 
draw men off from this faith and worftnp, do not hon- 
our hirn at all, but greatly degrade him ; and therefore, 



* Dr. -Priestley's address to the Methodists j prei.ee to the 
Letters of the Wesley St 

t John, v. 22, 23. 



Essay VII. of our Lord's Deity. 103 

by the verdict of their future Judge, they « do not 
"honour the Father that fent him." So that the Deity 
of Chrift, if true, mud be effential to Chrittianity.— 
It appears from Scriptures already referred to*, that 
they have no true knowledge of the Father, who do 
not receive it from the revelation made of him by the 
Son : but how can that man be thought to learn the 
knowledge of the Father from the Son, who difregards 
his exprefs declarations, that « He and the Father are 
" One," and that, " He that hath feen him hath feea 
" the Father?" if thefe words do indeed imply the ■ 
Deity of the Son, as One with the Father ; the knowl- 
edge of God, which they who deny his Deity pofTefs, 
cannot accord to the revelation made by the Son, but 
muft be entirely of another nature. — The Apoftle like- 
wife exprefsly faysf, " Whofoever denieth the Son, the 
" fame hath not the Father :" and can any man fuppofe 
this related only to a denial that Jefus was the Mefhah ? 
If this were all that was meant then none but avowed 
unbelievers were concerned in the warning : whereas 
it is manifeft, that the Apoftie fpoke of thofe who^- 
dttced) not thofe that oppofed^ his christian brethren ; and 
who, by denying jefus to be the Son of God drew 
them off from the true doctrine in that particular. As, 
therefore, they, " who denied the Son, had not the 
U Father \" the inference is unavoidable, that they, 
who deny the fcripturai doctrine concerning the Son or 
God, (whatever this doctrine be,) have not the Father 
for their God and Portion. Many errors relate to dif- 
ferent parts of the ftru£ture, the removal of which, 
(though ill fpared,) may not wholly fubvert it : but this 
concerns the foundation, and is of fatal confequenc-e ; 
" for other foundation can no man layj." 

The fame x^poftie gives it as a rule, that the truth 
was to be known, by its agreement with the doctrine 
taught by him and his brethren, and that every tenet, 
however fupported, muft be a doctrine of Antichrift, 
which accorded not with what they had taught concern- 



* Matt* xi. 27. Luke, x. 22. f 1 John, ii. 22, 23. 

\ Cor. in. 10....15. 



104 On the DoBrine Essay VII. 

ing Chrift. " Hereby know ye the Spirit of God : 
" every fpirit that confeffeth that Jefus Chrift is come 
U in the flefh is of God. And every fpirit that confef- 
" feth not that Jefus Chrift is come in the flefh is not of 
" God — and this is that fpirit of Antichrift.— We are 
" of God ; he that knoweth God, heareth us ; he that 
" is not of Go.i heareth not us — hereby know we the 
« Spirit of truth, and the fpirit of error*." Accord- 
ing to this rule, all pretences to new revelations, and 
every philofophical reafoning, muft be wholly difre- 
garded as fpringing from the fpirit of error y if they con- 
tradict the teftimony of the Apoftles as recorded in the 
Scriptures; and if this error relate to the Perfon of 
Chrift, it is of Antichrift. It may be allowed, that by 
" coming in the flem," the reality of our Lord's hu- 
man nature was maintained : but who could have 
doubted that he was really a man, if it had been gene- 
rally believed that he was no more than a man ? If he 
could not have come otherwife than in the fe/h, the 
Apoftie would hardly have made that an eflential part 
of his confeffion. But the coming of the only begotten 
Son of God in the flefh 1 , as the anointed King, Prieft, 
and Prophet of the church, was indeed efiential to his 
do&rine ; and they who denied it muft reject or per- 
vert all the reft. But indeed fome of thofe heretics, 
whom John here fo ftrenuouily oppofed, as the forerun- 
ners of the principal Antichrift, were the very perfons, 
whom certain modern Antitrinitarians would perfuade 
us to regard as the only primitive Chriftians, who re- 
tained the faith of the gofpel in its original purity ! 

The Apoftie afterwards declares, that the principal 
teftimony of God related to his Son ; " If we receive 
«« the witnefs of men, the witnefs of God is greater. 
« For this is the witnefs of God which he teftified of 
« his Son. — He that believeth not God, hath made 
a him a liar, becaufe he believeth not the record, that 
<f God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that 
" God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in 
«« his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that 



1 John, iv. S....6. 



Essay VII. of our hordes Deity. 105 

« hath not the Son of God hath not life*." As the whole 
of revelation centres m this point, it is vain for a man 
to pretend that he believes other parts of it, whilft he 
rejects it's principal doctrine. His opinion may indeed 
accord with the teftimony of Cod in fome particulars 5 
he may aflent to fcriptural truths, becaufe he thinks they 
may be otherivife proved ; but if his own reafonings, 
or thoie of fome philofopher, lead to conclufions op- 
posite to the word of God, he hefitates not to treat that 
as a lie. So that in fa£r. fuch men do not believe God, 
but other witneiTes, when they aflent to fcriptural 
truths : for they treat him as a falfe witnefs, when he 
contradicts their pre-conceived opinions. It is there- 
fore evident, that no man's belief of the Bible, or cf any 
thing contained in it, can be genuine, whilft he rejects 
t( the teftimony which God hath given of his Son." 
And this illuftrates all thofe other palTages, in which 
it is declared, that " he that believeth not fhall be 
" damned ;" and that " he who believeth not the Son, 
«« fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God abideth on 
H him :" becaufe it hence appears, that unbelievers 
treat the truth of God as a iie> and fo exclude themfelves 
from that falvation, which is in Chrift Jefus, for tinners 
who by faith apply for an intereft ,111 it. For it is plain 
that a man cannot believe the Son, if he refufe to credit 
what he fays of himfelf, and concerning his perfonal 
dignity and excellency. 

The fame important caution is again inculcated by 
this Apoftle. " Many deceivers are entered into the 
«« world, who confefs not that Jefus Chrift is come in 
<•' the flefh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrift. — "Who- 
" foever tranfgreiTeth, and alideth not in the dtclrine of 
" Chrift hath not God. He that abideth in the do&fine 
rt of Chrift, he hath both the Father and the Sonf." 
The doBrine of Qhriji muft certainly relate to his Ferfon, 
either as God and Man, or merely Man. But if he 
that abode not in that doctrine had not God : and if 
Chriftians were forbidden to " receive him into their 
. « houfes, or bid him God fpeed," or at all to fanction 



1 John, v.- 10....13. f 2 John, 7.,,. 11, 

K 



106 ^ On the Doctrine Essay VIL 

his delufions ; (though they might doubtlefs have re- 
lieved his urgent wants, as an enemy in diftrefs :) it 
mud follow, that the do&rine concerning the Perfon 
of Chrift; is effential to Chriftianity, and a rejection of 
the true doctrine is an antichriftian departure from the 
faith. And 1 appeal to every impartial man to deter- 
mine, whether fuch language, if we had firft ufed it, 
would not have excited the fneer of numbers, and art 
outcry cf bigotry againfl us. — The reader mufl obferve, 
that the texts, here quoted, are not brought as dire£f. 
proofs of our Lord's Deity, (though many of them do 
prove it ;.) but to ihew that a right faith in this refpeEl is 
ejjer.tial to falvat'wn by Chrift ; and they doubtlefs fo far 
eftabhfti this point, that thofe, who treat fuch queftions 
as immaterial, will find it mofl convenient wholly to 
overlook them, or to deny them to be the unerring dic- 
tates of the Spirit of truth. 

II. The peculiar nature of our Lord's mediation 
warrants the fame conclusion. The office of mediator, 
between two parties who are at variance, feems to imply, 
that the perfon performing it Hands in fome relation to 
each party •, is likely to take care of the intereits of 
both in an equitable manner ; and pofTefTes influence, ei- 
ther from excellency of character, dignity of rank, or 
fervices performed, to gixe weight to his interpofition, 
Now Jefus is Mediator between the great Creator and 
holy Governor of the univerfe, and his unholy rebel* 
lious creatures ; and it is fuppofed, that there are thofe 
things, in his perfon, character, or fervices, for the 
fake of which the Father is pleafed to pardon and blefs 
thofe in behalf of whom he mediates. But, not to an- 
ticipate the fubject. of a future EiTay, it fuffices to ob- 
ferve at prefent, that if the Father faw it neceiiary for 
the difplay of his glory in the falvation of finners, that 
the Mediator mould be Emmanuel, his coe-qual Son in 
human nature, God manifeft in the flefh : and that it 
was wholly improper for any other perfon to fuftain this 
office,, or approach him in this character, except " his 
".well beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed j" and 
if fmners pertinacioufly reject, his authenticated tefti- 
mony to this divine Mediator, and will regard him as a 
mere man ; they mult exclude themfelves from the 



Essay VII. of our Lord 9 s Deity. 107 

benefit of this gracious conftitution, and exceedingly 
affront both the Father and the Son. Can it indeed at 
■all be fuppofed, that fuch men are taught by that Spir- 
it, whofe office it is to glorify Chrif, when they thus 
ftudioufly degrade him ? yet, " if any man have not 
" the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his." It will be 
(hewn in due time, that the mediation of Chrift is the 
yrand difplay of the divine glory, of the honour of the 
law, and of the evil of fin : and, in this view of it, 
.the perfonal dignity of Chrift, like the centre ftone of 
anarch, fuftains the whole: take that away, the whole 
mult fall, either at once or by degrees. This reason- 
ing is Supported by well known and multiplied exam- 
ples. They who deny the Deity of Chrift next learn 
to explain away the do£trine of the atonement. That 
of his interceffion and prieftly character is foon propor- 
tionably difregarded y the evil and defert of fin then 
feem to vanifh from their view ; and they have little 
fear of future punifhment, but objetT: to the plain lan- 
guage of Scripture on that fubjecl: : this makes way for 
doubts about the authenticity, or divine infpiration, of 
the facred oracles, and often terminates m rejecting 
them : and when fuch men are ftill preffed with difficult 
ties from undeniable fa£ta, they proceed to deny the 
providence, and then the very being, of a God. It is 
manifeft, that this hath been the unhappy progrefs of 
many : for when the Deity of Chrift is denied, his 
mediation cannot confidently be maintained ; and when 
that is reje&ed, the Book, in which it is the principal 
fubjeffc, muft foon fink into infignificancy at leaft, and 
be treated with negle&, 

III. The peculiar nature of the faith, love, and obe- 
dience, which the word of God exprefsly requires us to 
exercife owards the Lord Jefus, confirms the point in 
queftion. The prophet fays,* " Curfed be the man 
«« that trufteth in man, and maketh flefh his arm, and 
" whofe heart departeth from the Lord :" and the 
Pfalmiftf cautions us in thefe words, " Put not your 
" truft in princes, nor in the\/?« of man, in wliom 

* Jer. xvii. 5, 6. f Ps. cxlvi. 3. 



108 / On the Doctrine Essay VII. 

« there is no help:" yet nothing can be plainer, than 
that we are required to put our trttfl in Chrifl ; and if 
he were only the Son of man, and had only an arm of 
fiefn, I "cannot fee how we could truft in him, without 
"^departing from the Lord."— The form of Baptifm, 
« into the name of ihe Father, the Son, and the Holy 
" Ghoft," implies a prof e fled dependence for falyation 
on the Son, and on the Holy Ghoft, and a devoted 
faithful attachment to them, as well as to the Father. — 
The expreffion, " believed the Son of God," fignifies 
not only an affent to his truths, but a reliance on him 
for all the blefTings which he is exalted to beftow. The 
Apoftle fpeaks of Chriftians, as thofe " who trujled on 
« Chrifl* :" faith, or its infeparable erTe£r., is common- 
ly defcribed by u coming to Chrifl" <« receiving him" 
or " abiding in him ; " and fuch expreffions muft imply 
application to him and habitual dependence on him, even 
now he is invifible to us, and not prefent in his human 
nature. 

We are commanded to « walk in him," which muft 
include a conftant reliance on his power, truth, and 
love," as well as a regard to his authorityf : (f He fufFer- 
" ed being tempted, that he might be able tofuccour us 
" when temptedt ;" does not this teach us to apply to 
and rely on him in our temptations ? He promifed his 
difciptes a mouth and wifdom § : ought they not, there- 
fore., to rely on him to fulfil that promife ? Can he be 
our' Life, unlefs we depend on him for the life of our 
fouls|| ? Does he forgive fins, and ought not the firmer 
to rely on him ror pardon ? Does he fend the Holy Spir- 
it, to teach, comfort, and fan£tify his people ; and ought 
we not to depend on him for that blefling ? Hath he all 
power in heaven and earth •, and fhall we do wrong to 
truft that power in all circumftances ? Has he engaged 
to be with his afTembled difciples ; and mould they not 
expect and depend on his gracious prefence** ? In ihort 
the believer can do nothing of himfelf ; and " can do 



* Eph. i. 12. t Col. ii,. 6, 7. J Heb. ii. 17, 18. 

§ LuKe, xxi. 15. || CI. iii - 1....4. 13. 

** Matt, xviii. 20, xxvjii. ZQ. John, xiv. 20....24. 



Essay VII. of our Lord's Deity. 109 

« all things through Chrift who ftrengthened him :" 
" he has communion with the Father, and with his 
" Son Jefus Chrift* :" and how can thefe things be, 
unlefs he habitual'y relies on him and applies to him in 
all thefe refpeds .^They, who do not truft in Chrift, 
can receive no communications from him, nor maintain 
any intercourfe with him \ and it is no wonder, that 
they deride thofe as enthufiafts, who experience what 
they defpife. — But if fuch a dependence on Chrift be 
eflential to faith, the doctrine of his Deity muft be ef- 
fential alfo : for no man can reafonably rely on a mere 
creature, to forgive his fins, to fan&ify his foul, to raife 
his body from the grave, and to give him eternal life : 
and can one deny fuch a reliance to be idolatrous ? To 
form thefe expectations from Chrift, we muft believe, 
that He is " God over all blerTed for evermore •," " the 
" fame yefterday, to-day, and for everf ." 

In like manner the love, which Chrift demands of us, 
cannot belong to any mere creature. We are required 
to love him more than our nearell relatives, or even 
than our own lives ; nay, to hate all the«e, when they 
come in competition with our love to him ; otherwife 
we are not worthy of him, and cannot be his difciples:f -, 
Now, what is this but to love him fupremely and as we 
fhould love the Father ? Yet we are never cautioned not 
to let our love of Chrift interfere with " that love of 
God " with all our hearts," which the law requires : it 
is not once intimated, that there is any incongruity, 
difparity, or even diftin&ion, between our love of the 
Father, and of the Son : nay, the more we love Chrift, 
the greater our love of the Father is fuppofed to be, and 
the more fhall we be loved of him§. The decifions of 
the great day of account are reprefented as awarded by 
this rule : they who have loved Chrift, and fhewn their 
love to him by kindnefs to his difciples for his fake, will 
be confidered as true believers and righteous perfons ; 
they, who {hall be proved not to have loved him by their 

* 1 John, i. 3. f Rom. ix. 5. Heb. xiii. S. Rev. i. 4. xL 1&. 
X Matt. x. 37. Luke, xiv. 26. 

§ John, viii. 42. xiv. 21 24. xv. 23. 

K2 



1 10 On the Doarine Essay VII. 

negled of his poor difciples, will be confidered as un- 
believers and impenitent finners, and condemned to 
have their portion with the wicked*. But can we fup- 
pofe, that no mention would on this occafion be made 
of the love of God, if the love of Chrift had been entire- 
ly diftinct from it •, or if it were not certain, that the 
more we love the Son, the more we love the Father that 
fent him ? 

The Apoftle Paul likewife folemnly bleffes "all, 
** that love the Lord Jefus Chrift in fmcerity •," he de- 
nounces an awful curfe on every man who does not 
love the Lord Jefus Chriftf j and he reprefents the love 
of Chrift, as the conftraining principle of all his own de- 
voted labours and fervicesj. Another Apoftle fpeaks 
of the love of an unfeen Saviour, as the univerfal expe- 
rience of all Chriftians§ ; and when that Apoftle denied 
his Lord, 'he was thrice interrogated whether he lov- 
ed him, before he was re-inftated in his paftoral office |[. 
No fuch fpecial and pre-eminent love towards any one 
of the mere fervants of God is required of us : nay, the 
Apoftle was afraid left he, or his brethren, fhould be 
put in Chrift's place, when he enquired, « was Paul 
u crucified for you ? or were you baptized in the name 
" of Paul** ?" But our Lord never intimated, that there 
was any danger left his difciples fhould love him, in a 
degree that would be derogatory to the rights of God 
the Father.— The Lord is a jealous God, and cannot 
endure a rival in our affections, but demands our whole 
heart How then can " Chrift dwell in our hearts/' 
as Lord of our affeaions, if He and the Father be not 
One ? Seeing therefore we ought to love Chrift, even as 
we love the Father ; it muft be neceffary that we be- 
lieve him to be the adequate objeft of that love •, both 
for what he is in himfelf, and what lie hath done for us : 
and thus the doarine of his Deity, if true, muft be ef- 
fential; and unlefs we believe it, how can we keep 
clear of the Apoftle's anathema ? 



* Matt. xxv. &1....46. t Eph. vi. 24. 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 

% 2 Cor. v. 14. 15. § 1 Fet.i. 8. {| John, xxi. 15....ir, 

** 1 Cor. i. 13. 



Essay VIL of our Lord's Deity. Ill 

We are conftantly reminded in the facred Scriptures 
that we are " not our own, but the Lord's :" we are 
his property, becaufe he made us : and, when by fin we 
had alienated ourfelves, we became His again, as 
" bought with a price, to glorify him, in body and fpir- 
it, which are h i s * . ' ' Yet the Apcftles always fpeak of 
believers, as belonging to Chrift ; they are his fervants y 
his purchafed flock, his efpoufed bride, (though the Lord 
of hofts is called the hufband of the Churchf,) yea, the 
members of his body. Paul fays, in one place, that "He 
" was dead to the law, that he might live unto God ," 
** in another, " that he lived no longer to himfelf, but 
u to him ivho died for him and rofe again „•" and that 
" Chrift died and rofe . again, that he might be the 
u Lord both of the living and of the dead J." And he 
et obferves, that " the Lord Jefus gave himfelf for us, 
** to redeem us from all iniquity, and purify us unto 
<( himfelf, to be a peculiar people zealous of good 
« works§." Could fuch language as this be properly 
ufed concerning fervices rendered to a mere man ? Sure- 
ly it would be an idolatrous alienation of ourfelves from 
the fervice of our Maker, to devote ourfelves to that of 
a fellow-creature. But if Chrift be truly God, One 
with the Father : then our dedication of ourfelves to his 
fervice is the fame as our devoted obedience to the 
Father that fent him ; and is no other, than the pref- 
erred manner, in which as redeemed finners we are re- 
quired to render it. 

In fhort, it rauft be evident to all, who reverence the 
language of Scripture and diligently inveftigate the fub- 
je£t. ; that we honour, obey, and worfhip the Father, 
when we honour, obey, and worfhip the Son ; and 
that all the_ glory rendered to the Son redounds to the 
glory of the Father, " who is glorified in the Son ||." 
But indeed who can believe, that it mould be the office 
of the Holy Spirit to " glorify Chrift," if it be of little 



* 1 Cor. vi. 19. 20. x. 51. t & 

J Rom. xiv. 8, 9. 2 Cor. v. 14. Gal. ii. 19. 

§ Tit. ii. 14. 

|| John, xiii.31, 32. xvii. 1....10. Phil. i. 20. n. 11. 



112 On the Dottrine Essay VII. 

or no confequence what men think of his perfon j or if 
proper views of it are not efiential to Chriftianity ? or 
that the Apoftle would in that cafe have fpoken of his 
" name being glorified in and by his faints," both now 
and at the day of judgment* ? 

Finally, we are every where in Scripture required to 
glory and rejoice in the Lord ; and not to glory or re- 
joice in ourfelves, in worldly advantages, or in men. — 
Yet Paul characterizes. Chriftians, as " rejoicing" or 
glorying u in Chnftf }" He fays, " I proteft by your re- 
" joicing, which I have in Cbrijt Jefus\-r He fpeaks 
to the Philippians of " their rejoicing being more abun- 
" dant in Chrift Jefus§ :" and he evidently applies the 
language of the prophets, requiring men to " glory in 
" Jehovah," to Jefus Chrift j even while he cautioned 
his people, not to glory in men||. In like manner Peter, 
fpeaking of the appearing of Jefus Chrift, fays to his 
brethren, " Whom having not feen ye love; in whom 
" ye fee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un- 
6i fpeakable and full jf glory** ?\ And could this joy beany 
other, either in its nature or object: than that mention- 
ed by the Apoftle Paul. — " We rejoice in the hope of 
«« the glory of God." — " And not only fo, but we alfo 
" joy in Gbd-ff ? ' On the fuppofition that Jefus is a mere 
creature, Jehovah would give his glory to another, if 
he infpired his fervants to ufe fuch language : (o that 
the confidence, love gratitude, devotednefs of heart,' 
and honour, which the Scriptures require us to render 
to Chrift ; . mud be impracticable, unlefs we have a pro- 
per judgment of his dignity and. excellency ; and we 
muft either rob him of the glory due to his name, or 
give Jehovah's glory to another, if we miftake in this 
fundamental matter. 

IV The nature of heavenly felicity confirms this rea- 
soning. The language of the Apoftle is emphatical, 
." To depart hence, and to be with Chrift , which is far 
" better :" for this implies that the prefence of Chrift, 



* 2 Thess. i. 10....12. f Phil. iii. 3. { 1 Cor. xv. 31. 
§ Pnil. i. 26. 

[| Is. xlv. 24, 25. Jer. ix. 23, 24. 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. iii. 2ti 
** 1 Pet.i. 8. ft Rom.v. 2„..11L 



Essay VII. of our Lord's Deify. 113 

the difcoveries of his glory, and the enjoyment of his 
love, conftitute the happinefs for which he longed* : 
and in what does this differ from the beatific vifion ? — 
But in the 1 a It chapters of the Revelation of John which 
defcribe the heavenly ftate, this is dill more plainly de- 
clared. He, whofe name is " Alpha and Omega." fays, 
" I will give him that is athirft of the water of life freely. 
W He that overcometh fhall inherit all things : and I 
" will be his God, and he fhall be my fonf.' If any 
perfon mould explain this paiiage of the Father it 
would only prove, that ' the Father and Son are One ';" 
for the Son is doubtlefs called Alpha and Omega. 
Again, the Apoille w faw no temple" in the new Je- 
rufalem ; < for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb 
" are the Temple of it : and the city had no need of the 
u fun, neither of the moon ; for the glory of C od did 
(i lighten it, and the Lamb was the light thereof!" He 
" next faw a < • pure river of water of life, — proceeding 
" out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb :" — and 
there (hall be no more " curfe, but the throne of God, 
" and of the Lamb (hall be in it, and his fervants mall 
N ferve him ,• and they fhah fee his face, and his name 
" fhall be in their forehead s§." Can any thing be plainer, 
than that the writer of this book believed the Son to be 
One with and equal to the Father; the Fountain of 
light, life, purity, and felicity; in whofe -" prefence 
" is* fulnefs of joy, and pleafures at his right hand for 
«* evermore ?" — The worfhip of heaven likewife is re- 
prefented, as a conftant afcription of praife and honour 
to Chrift together with the Father : fo that we cannot 
ling on earth the very words of the heavenly choir, with 
apparent fervour and unreferved approbation, without 
danger of being deemed enthufialls ; as it is manifeft 
from the care taken by many perfons, to expunge every 
expreiTion of this kind from their books of pfalms and 
hymns for public worfhip, as well as from their other 
fervices||. — Will there then be difcordant companies of 
worfhippers in heaven ? Or, ^if all muft be harmonious^ 



Phil.- i. 23. John, xvii. 24 P f Rev. xxi. 
Rev. xxi. 22, 23. § Rev. xxii 1....5. 
Rev. vii* 16, 17. 



114 On the Doctrine Essay VII. 

are we never to learn the fong cf the redeemed, till we 
come to heaven ? Or how can we learn this fong, if we 
never come to a fettled determination in our minds, 
whether the Lamb that was flain be worthy of all wor- 
fhip and honour, or not ? or if it be indifferent, whether 
we adore and expect felicity from him, as God j or only 
refpedf. his memory, as a good man ? 

V. Laflly, the language of authority, which we are 
allured our future Judge will ufe at the laft day, mould 
not pafs unnoticed in this argument. As the happinefs 
of heaven is represented under the idea, of „ entering 
" into his joy " and " beholding his glory* ;" fo the mis- 
ery of the wicked is fpoken of, as a banifhment from Jjis 
prefence, and the endurance of his wrath. He will not 
fay " Depart from God," but " Depart from mef :'* 
and in a figurative defcription of the great confternation 
of his enemies, in which is an evident reference to the 
day of judgment, they are introduced as « calling on 
« the rocks and mountains to hide them from — the 
" wrath of the Lamb ; for the day of his great wrath i$ 
M come, and who is able to abide it J '' If then we be- 
lieve that < he fhall come to be our Judge *,' it mult be 
of the greateit importance, that we know who He is 
by whom our eternal ftate is to be decided. For furely 
it will be very dreadful for thofe to meet him arrayed in 
glorious majefty, who, during their whole lives, refuf- 
ed him the honour he demanded, treated his declarations 
of his perfonal dignity as falfe or unmeaning, and con- 
tinually uttered hard fpeeches againii him§ ! The fea- 
fon of his coming will be emphatically "the day of 
%$ Godj| ;" and it behoves every one of us to „ prepare 
" to meet our God/' that we " may be found of him in 
t( peace, without fpot and blamelefs." 

But to all thefe fcriptural derhonftrations of the 
truth and importance of this effential doctrine, fome 
objections are oppofed, which are conndered as infur- 
mountable ; — a few of which fhall here be very briefly 
noticed. — It is objected, that the Deity of Chnft is in- 



* Luke, xii. 37. Matt. xxv. 21. 

f Matt. xxv. 41. 2 Thesjr. i. 9, 10. J Rev. vi. 16, 17. 

§ Jude, 14,15. Rev. i. 7. |J 2 Pet. iii. 12....14. 



Essay VII. of our Lord's Deity. 115 

confident with the unity of God ; or elfe that it is 
irrational, unintelligible, and 'contradictory. But doubt- 
lefs fomething more than confident affeftion is re- 
quifite to prove the doctrine of the Trinity to be incon- 
filtent with the divine Unity. The Apoftle fpeaks of 
the body, foul, and fpirit, as conftituting the fame 
individual man ; (though fome perhaps may object to 
his language :) if then a man may be three in one re- 
fpe£t, and one in another ; do we not know fo much 
of God, as to afiert it is impoffible that fome what fim- 
ilar, but far fuperior, and more entire both in the dif- 
tin&ion and in the unity, fhould take place in his 
incomprehenfible nature ? And ought not men to fpeak 
more reverently and cautioufly on a fubjeft, about 
which we know nothing more than what God himfelf 
hath taught us; efpeciaily as much is fpoken in Scrip- 
ture, which fo appears to have this meaning, that the 
. mod of Chriftians in every age have thus underiiood 
it? We do not fay, that the Deity is Three in One in 
the fame fenfe •, nor do we pretend to explain or com- 
prehend how God fubfifts in three Perfons, the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghofl : but we would humbly 
believe his testimony concerning himfelf, and adore his 
incompreheiifible majefty. 

- One would fcarcely have expected, that this doctrine 
fhould have been objected to, becaufe it is mvfierious ; 
when the Apoftle exprefsly calls it the great mystery 
of godliness. But indeed, till we can comprehend 
ourfelves, it is abfurd to objecl to myileries in thofe 
things which relate to the infinite God ! The power of 
mind over matter is myfterious in the higheft degree ; 
yet our will moves our tongues and limbs continually, 
and we know not how : fo that our own exigence, as 
well as that of God, muft be denied, if we admit it 
not. Myileries are found in the productions of every 
plant and animal, which philofophy can never explain. 
The ftyle of God in all his works is myftery ; and {hall 
we fuppofe that his own nature is not above all myf- 
terious ? Experiment is allowed to be the proper fland- 
ard of our difcoveries of the powers of nature : fhould 
not then the teftimony of God concerning himfelf, ter- 
minate our enquiries concerning his incomprehenfible 



>116 On the Doctrine Essay. VII. 

EfTence ? For " can we by fearching find out God ? 
«< can -we find out the Almighty to perfection r" If 
men object: Chrift's inferiority, as Man and Mediator, 
to the Father ; or his growth in wifdom and ftature ; 
we anfwer, that fuch teftimonies, when compared with 
thofe which afcribe omnifcience and other divine per- 
fections to Him demonftrate that he had another nature, 
in union with that true humanity of which fuch things 
are fpoken. - And " his delivering up the kingdom to 
s< God, even the Father :" which has fometimes been 
objected to the doctrine of his Deity*, only eftablifhes 
the diftindHon between the abfolute and everiafting 
kingdom of God, as Creator \ and the mediatorial king- 
dom of Chrift, as the Divine Saviour of finners. The 
abfolute kingdom exifted before fin entered \ and will 
exiit for ever, after the mediatorial kingdom hath an- 
fwered its grand defign, and is come to an end : but 
the Son will be One with the Father to eternity, as he 
was in the beginning, before time was, or creation had 
taken place. 

If any perfon fhoukl be convinced, by thefe plain argu- 
ments, of the truth and importance of tins doclrine ; I 
would conclude with warning him not to reft in the notion 
of it : but to apply it practically, by relying on Emman- 
uel for all things belonging to falvation, and by rendering 
him that love, and honour, and worfhip, and obedience, 
which are due to his Name. The truth held in unrigh- 
teoufiaeis can only increafe a man's condemnation ; but 
they who deem it the life of their fouls fliould endeavour 
to adorn, and promote the knowledge of it, by all fuita- 
ble means*, remembering that "the fervant of the Lord 
« mull not ftrive, but be gentle to all men ; in meeknefs 
" in(truc~iing thofe that .oppofe themfelves ; if God perad- 
« venture will give them repentance to the acknowledging 
«« of the truth ; and that they may recover themfelves out 
« of the fnare of the devil, who are taken captive by him- 
«< at his wilif." 



* I Cor. xv. 24,..28. f 2 Tim. 11. 24.. t .26. 



ESSAY VIII. 

On the Nature and Design of the Mediatorial 
Office^ sustained by the Lord Jesus Christ, 



X HE Mediation of Chrift, between a holy God 
and {inful men, has an immediate connexion with every 
part of that religion which bears his name : and all, who 
call themfelves Cliriftians, fhould ufe great diligence in 
feeking an accurate and adequate knowledge of this in- 
terefting fubject, as far as they can deduce it from the 
facred Scriptures. It is therefore intended in this Efiay, 
to make fome obfervations on mediation in general ; — to 
explain the nature and ends of our Lord's mediation in 
particular ; — to {hew in what re{pects He, and none elfe, 
was qualified to fuftain fuch an office ; — and to prove 
from Scripture, that he is a Mediator according to the 
import of that term as here explained. 

The interpolation of a Mediator in the affairs of men 
implies, that fome difference, or ground of difference, 
fubfifts between the two parties : it fuppofes, that, at leaff, 
one of them has caufe of complaint or refentment againft 
the other ; and that confequences, injurious to one, or 
both of them, or to thofe connected with them, may be 
apprehended, if the controverfy be not amicably ter- 
minated. To prevent thefe effects, fome perfon, either of 
his own accord, or at therequeft, and by the appointment, 
of one or both the contending parties, interpofes ; and 
endeavours, by his authority, influence, or good offices, to 
effect a pacification, on fuch terms as are fuppofed to be 
equitable, or at leaft not materially injurious to either 
party : for if a Mediator fhould take great care of the 
rights and intereils of one party, and evidently neglect: 
thofe of the other ; he would be jultly condemned, as 
acting inconfiftently with the defign and nature of his cf- 



118 On the Mediatorial Essay VIII. 

'fice. He mould, therefore, behave as the friend of both 
parties ; accommodating the differences according to the 
juftice of their claims, and in a manner as fatisfactory 
to each of them as can confift with equity and im- 
partiality. 

In fome cafes a mperior in (ration or power may af- 
fume the office of Mediator, and by authority induce the 
contending parties to accept of the terms propofed to each 
of them. In others, the end may be accomplifhed by 
argument, remonft ranee, or perfuaiion : and this is 
nothing more than convincing both parties, that they 
ought to make, or accept of, fuch conctffions, for the 
fake of peace and their mutual good, as are equitable 
and reafonable j" and then inducing them to act according 
to the dictates of their u'nderftanding and confeience. 
But fometimes (efpecially when one party is much infe- 
rior to the other, and hath been highly criminal or in- 
jurious,) the office of a Mediator chiefly confifts, in pre- 
vailing, with the offended mperior to accept of fuch con- 
ceffions and Satisfaction, as the other can make ; and not 
to proceed againft him with rigour, though he deferve 
it : and if this can be effected, it only remains for him to 
prevail with the. inferior, or criminal party, to make the 
required conceffions. A Mediator, however, on fome 
occafions, out of great love and pity to the offender, may 
offer to make compensation at his own expence for the 
injuries done; in order that the other party may, with- 
out lofs or difhonour, lay afide his purpofes of inflicting 
deferved punimment. 

Various qualifications are requifite for perfons, who 
fuftain the office of a Mediator between two parties at 
variance, in any of the cafes which' have been Hated : but 
our attention muft principally be fixed upon the lad 5 as 
it doubtlefs moft accords to the interefting fubj; ctj which 
it Is intended to illuftrate. Should any one interpofe be- 
tween a fovereign prince and his rebellious Subjects, in 
order to prevail with him to fhew them mercy : it is ob- 
vious, that he fhould himfelf be free from all fufpicion o£ 
in the leaft favouring their rebellion ; otherwife his in- 
terpoiition would render him the more fufpected. He 
ought likewife to be a perfon of that rank and character, 
or to have done thofe important Services, which intitle 



Essay VIII. Office of Christ. 119 

him to the confidence of his Sovereign, and tend to ren- 
der it honourable for him, at his inftance, to pardon thofe 
that deferve punifliment. Every one mutt perceive the 
absurdity of a criminal undertaking to mediate in behalf 
of his affociatt s in guilt : nor could an obfcure perion, of 
indirVcrent character, and in no refpe<5t intitled to, or pof- 
ft ff. . ;d of, the affection or confidence of the prince, attempt 
fuch an interpofiuon without manifeft impropriety. If 
a company of men, in fuch circumftances, were defirous 
qf thus conciliating the favour of their offended lord; 
they would naturally turn their thoughts to one of his 
chief nobles, to fome perfon that had performed fignal 
fervices with great renown, or to his principal favourite* ; 
or even to his beloved fori, if they had any profpeft or 
hope of obtaining his good offices — And if fuch a me- 
diator could be engaged in their behalf, with fo firm and 
cordial an attachment to their caufe, as to fay with Paul, 
when he meditated with Philemon for O eiimus, " if 
" they have wronged thee, or owe thee ought, put that 
" on mine account ; — I will repay itf •" and if he really 
were competent to make good fuch an engagement; 
his interpofition would have it's utmofl advantage for 
fuccefs. 

But no mediator can be fully authorifed for his office, 
uniei's, by one means or other, both parties allow of his 
interference : at leaft his mediation cannot have its due 
effect, till they both accede to his terms, or plan of ac- 
commodating their differences. For if one party autho- 
rife him to propofe certain terms to the other, as the ut- 
mofl: that he will yield ; the whole muft yet be frus- 
trated and the diflention perpetuated, if thefe terms be 
pertinacioufly rejected : except when the mediator acts 
alfo as an umpire, and compels the parties to accept of 
his prefcribed conditions. — There is alfo an evident pro- 
priety in a mediator's Standing in fuch a relation to each 
of the parties, as to lay a foundation for his bein^ con fid er- 
ed as an equal friend to both of them, in all refpecls, in 
which their rank, or the juftice of the C3ufe, will admit 
of it : fo that there can be no reafon to fufpec~t, that a 

* Acts xii. 20. t Philemon 19, 20. 



220 On the Mediatorial . Essay VIII. 

perfon, thus (ituated, will facrifice the interefts or rights 
of one party, from a partial regard to the other, 

Thefe obfervations concerning the office of a Mediator, 
as well known among men, may enable us to underftand 
more clearly the doctrine of Scripture refpecYmg the me- 
diatorial office of Emmanuel : and we may very properly 
argue from them, in fomething of the fame manner, that 
Paul did from the office of High-Prieft among the Jews, 
when he wrote to them concerning the High-Priefthood 
of Chrift. This indeed was a divinely appointed type 
and fhadow of the fubje&, that the Apoftle illuftrated 
and confirmed by it : whereas, our arguments, from the 
office of a Mediator among men, derive their force from 
analogy, or the particulars in which the cafes coincide. 
Yet as the Lord himfelf has reprefented the office of 
Cliriit under the idea of a Mediator ; it is manifeir that 
he intended to affift, and not to miflead or confufe, our 
apprehenfions by the allufion ; and this allows us to make 
what ufe we can, with caution and fobriety, of the cafe 
alluded to, in order to explain more clearly the fubje£t 
which it illuftrates. 

We mud therefore in the next place reflect on the 
need there was for « a Mediator between God and 
" man." Had the human fpecies never forfeited the 
favour, or incurred the .difpleafure, of their bountiful 
Creator, a Mediator could never have been wanted ; for 
he was of himfelf fufficiently difpofed to favour and 
blefs the work of his own hands. Had not man been 
brought into a ftate of alienation from God, and ex- 
pofed to his juft indignation ; no reconciliation, and 
confequently no peace maker, could have been required. 
The Angels in heaven approach their God and Father, 
without the intervention of a Mediator : and fo doubt- 
lefs did man, before fin had made a breach between 
God and him. — When the firft Adam had broken the 
commandment, and forfeited the covenant, of his Crea- 
tor ; and fo fin and death had entered into the world, 
:o pafs upon the whole race that was about to defcend 
\iom him : then was " the fecond Adam, the Lord 
« from heaven," promifed, to be the Mediator of a new 
covenant under the title of " the Seed of the woman, 
who " ihould biuife the Serpent's head." Thus the 






Essay VIII. Office of Christ, 121 

entrance of fin gave rife to the whole plan of a Media- 
tor : and the malignity or defert of fin alone required 
fuch an exalted Mediator, and fuch a meritorious me- 
diation, as the Scripture reveals and propofes to us. 
For if a righteous and holy God had not viewed fin, as 
fo evil in its nature and effects, that it would be utterly 
inconfiltent with his glory to {hew mercy to tranfgref- 
fors, uniefs ibme conftitution of this kind were pre- 
vioufly formed ; that love, which provided the Mediator, 
would have fumced, (fo to fpeak) to induce him to par- 
don them without one. We mult not, therefore, ima- 
gine that the mediation of Chrift is needful, in order to 
prevail with God to pity, love, and fave fmners : on the 
contrary, we fhould confider it, as the grand effeB of 
his companion and good will ; and as intended to ren- 
der the exercife of his plenteous mercy confiftent with 
the honour of his juftice, and conducive to the harmo- 
nious diiplay of all his perfections. 

Men had forfeited their Creator's favour, and deferr- 
ed his anger, by tranfgremon ; they had alfo loft his 
holy image, and become vile and miferable, even " vef- 
" feis of wrath fitted for deftru&ion :" but it pleafed 
their offended Sovereign, " to thd praife of his glory,'* 
and the difcovery of his infinite and everlafting mercy 
and bounty, (for God is Love,) to purpofe the recon- 
ciliation, recovery, and eternal felicity of an innumera- 
ble multitude of the fallen race. It did not, however,, 
become Him, as the infinitely righteous and holy 
Governor of the univerfe, to fhew fuch favour to the 
guilty and unholy, without adopting fome decifive 
method of declaring his judgment concerning their 
crimes and deferts. Other wife it might have been fup- 
pofed, that he did not wholly abhor fin ; that he meant 
to defift from the demands of his violated law ; that it 
needed not to have been made fo ftri£t ; that it was not 
requifite for his rational creatures on all occafions to 
obey it, or that tranfgreffors mould be punifhed accord- 
ing to its fan£tion ; and that it was owing to fome other 
caufe, than his perfect juftice and holy abhorrence of 
evil, that he fo feverely executed vengeance on fome 
of his rebellious fuhje&s; To obviate fuch conclufions, 
it became the God of glory to devife fome plan, accord- 
u 2 



122 On theMediaiorlal ,-. Essay VIII. 

in'g to which the largeft exercife of his pardoning mercy, 
and faving grace, might confift with the mod affe&ing 
difplay of his avenging juftice and hatred of iniquity. 
For this purpoie, as it is manifeft from the Scriptures, 
his infinite wifdom and love had formed, and then re- 
vealed, the plan of a Mediator, through whom a new 
covenant was arranged and propofed to finners •, ac- 
cording to which all things pertaining to eternal life are 
freely bellowed, for his fake, on all who apply for them 
in the appointed way. " Thus the riches of God's 
u mercy have abounded towards us in all wifdom and 
" prudence* '." Through the intervention of a Mediator 
finners are faved ; and yet the Lord does not fo much as 
feem to favour fin : nay, he in the moft decifive man- 
ner {hews his judgment of what punifhmentit deferves, 
his holy abhorrence of it s and his determination in all 
poffibie cafes, " to magnify the lav/ and make it honour- 
« able." 

If in difcourfing on fuch fubje&s, we are conftrained 
to accommodate our language and reafoning to the con- 
ceptions and ufages of men ; we do no more than imi- 
tate the facred writers, and can aptly exprefs our mean- 
ing in the words which they have ufed before us : 
whereas, they, who obje& to fuch explanations, are 
obliged to reprefent the ftyle of Scripture, as highly (if 
not abfurdly,) figurative ; and frequently to caution 
their difciples againil too literal an explanation of it : 
nay, it coils them much labour, as well as great inge- 
nuity, to furnifh fuch interpretations as accord with 
their rational fyflems, and which common readers could 
never have thought of. And what is this, but an infin- 
uation, that the facred writers have ufed a language, 
extremely fuited to miflead and confufe the unlearned 
and fimple part of mankind ? But indeed, the Apoftle 
has ihewn at large, that the Mediation of Chrift was in- 
tended efpecially for this end, " that God might be juft 
" and the juftifier of the believer j? " a juft God, and 
" a Saviourf." 

If we examine the fubjecl: more minutely, we mall 
find, that the Mediation of Chrift is of that kind, which 



Eph. i, 7,-8. t Rom. iii. 2. Is. xlv. 21. 



Essay VIII. Office of Christ. 123 

required fuch a perfon to fuftain and perform it, as the 
Scriptures teftify him to be. If any one mould inter- 
pofe between an offended fovereign and his rebellious 
fubje&s, in order that for his fake exemption from pun- 
ifhment, and the grant of valuable privileges, mould 
be conferred on them \ he muft (land high in the efti- 
mation of the prince, and be a perfon of known- worth 
and dignity among all who are acquainted with the trans- 
action : otherwife there would be no ground to expecl; 
that his requefts would be attended to : nor any care 
taken, if they were, to manifefb the demerit of the par- 
doned offenders, or the clemency and bounty of their 
reconciled fovereign. But what man, or mere creature, 
could thus interpofe between the infinite God and the 
apoftate children of men ? Who could have thought of 
requefting, that for his fake and at his infance, all the 
crimes of thofe, who came in his name) fhould be par- 
doned, all their wants fupplied, and all fpiritual and 
eternal bleflings conferred upom them ? Would not fuch 
an intrufion have been confidered as an acx of rebellion, 
or at leaft a preference given to the happinefs of rebels 
above the glory of God ? Who among the Angels of 
heaven, or any of the creatures that God has made, 
could pretend to perfonal dignity, excellency, merit, or 
fervices fufficient to authorife fuch a requifition I Ot 
how could it have been imagined, that, if the Lord did 
not fee good to fpare and blefs Tinners for his own 
name's fake •, he would be induced to do it for the fake 
of a derived dependent being, who lived, moved, and 
exiited in and by him alone ? If it had been confiftent 
with the difplay of his glory, to have faved finners with- 
out an atonement ; he would not have wanted any ex- 
ternal inducement to do it : but if his honour and the 
falvation of finners in this ivay were incompatible, who 
could poffibly prevail with him to difhonour himfelf ? 
Or could any mere created Being have undertaken to 
rendcr x the exercife of mercy and grace to finners, con- 
fiftent with his perfect juftice and the honour of his law ? 
Alas ! their beft fervices muft all be due for themfelves, 
and on account of benefits already conferred : even 
their own felicity, . ftri&ly fpeaking, muft be gratuitous, 
not merited: nor hath one of them power to endure 



124 On the Mediatorial Essay VIII. 

the punifhment of a {ingle tranfgreffion, without finally 
finking' under it; for " the wages of fin is death." So 
that it cannot be conceived, that the office of Mediator 
between God and man, which Chrift performs, could 
poffibly have been fuftained by any mere creature ; or 
that any one had fufficient love to have induced him to 
undertake it for the benefit of the unholy and rebellious. 
—But when the eternal Son of the Father ; when He, 
who created and upholds all worlds, for whom all things 
were made, and whom all Angels worfhip, voluntarily 
engaged himfelf to mediate a peace between the offend- 
ed Sovereign of the univerfe and his finful creatures : 
" to the principalities and powers in heavenly places 
(i was known — the manifold wifdom of God ;" and all 
the holy intelligences that ever have been, or (hall be, 
made acquainted with this grand defign, rauft perceive, 
that his perfonal dignity and excellence ; his ineffable 
union with, and relation to, the Father ; as well as his 
boundlefs power, love, and holinefs, rendered him in 
all refpecls the proper Perfon to accornpliih it, and 
bring it to a happy and glorious event ; — and that He 
only was competent for fuch an undertaking. 

If a Mediator was to be conftituted for fuch ends 
as have been dated, it muft be proper that the Lord 
ihould chufe and appoint him to this important office. 
(f No one taketh this honour to himfelf, but he that is 
" called of God/' A felf-appointed Mediator muft 
have been deemed an intruder. The criminals could 
not reasonably expe£fc to have the nomination of him : 
they had no juft ground of complaint ; the whole de- 
fign muft be formed for their relief and advantage ; the 
rights and glory of God muft be firft confidered and 
fecured in the execution of it ; and he alone could 
know whom it became him to entruft with fo vaft a 
concern, as involved in it, not only the interefts of his 
univerfal kingdom, but the eternal honour of his own 
great Name. — We know to whom he hath committed 
this office ; and we are fure, from the event, that he 
faw none elfe, in heaven or earth, whom he could fo 
properly have appointed to it : for he does nothing in 
vain, and would not have fent his only begotten Son on 
a defign, which one of his fervants could, have executed 



Essay VIII. Office of Christ. 1 %k 

with the fame fuccefs and advantage. But we may un- 
derftand enough in this matter to perceive, that it 
would have been highly improper, for the infinite God 
to have appointed a mere creature to this office, and to 
have intrufted his own glory, the falvation of innumer- 
able fouls and the interefts of his everlafting kingdom, 
into his hands. In fuch a caufe, " he puts no truft in 
'* his fervants, and charges even his Angels with folly*." 
At the fame time, however, this Mediator is, in all 
refpe&s, fuited to our cafe, and worthy of our confi- 
dence. If it had been revealed, that God would deal 
with us through a Mediator, and we had been required 
to look out for one, on whom we could moil entirely 
and unrefervedly depend, when eternal happinefs or 
mifery was at a flake ; what could we have done ? We 
could never have entrufted fuch an important caufe in 
the hands of any mere man : nay the more we had con- 
fidered the matter, in all it's difficulties and confe- 
quences, the greater hefitation fhould we have felt to 
confide it to the hands of a mere creature : for all are 
changeable ; and we fhould have been apprehenfive, 
left fome want of power, love, truth, wifdom, or con- 
ftancy fhould induce a failure, when our eternal All 
was at a flake. Yet we could never have thought of 
fuch a Mediator, as our offended God hath himfelf 
provided, appointed, and revealed, who is " the fame 
*« yeflerday, to-day, and for ever," and who is " the 
" true and holy One," Emmanuel," " God over all 
" bleffed for evermore." — Here we can have no ground 
for fear ; unbelief alone can hefitate. He, whole pow- 
er fuftains the univerfe, is able to fave our fouls in all 
poffible cafes. He, who is worthy to be entrufted with 
the rights of God and the eternal glory of his Name, 
mufl alfo be worthy to be entrufled with our immortal 
interefts $ (for our rights in this refpe£fc are all forfeit- 
ed :) and He, who, in perfect juftice and purity him- 
felf, could fo pity and condefcend to guilty polluted 
creatures, as to undertake fuch an office wholly for 
their benefit, cannot want love to accomplifh whatever 

* Job. iv, IS, 



126 On the Mediatorial Essay VIIL 

is wanting for the eternal falvation of all who accept 
of his mediation. 

But the appointed method, in which this great Me- 
diator performs his moil gracious defign, hath laid a 
(till more firm, foundation for our unfhaken confidence. 
It was proper, that the terms of our reconciliation 
ihould be propofed. by the Lord himfelf : and, as thefe 
had refpe£t to the Mediator, they required him to. af- 
fume our nature into perfonal union with his Deity ; 
that as " God manifeft in the flefh," he might Hand 
related to us alfo, in the mod intimate manner, as our 
Brother, bone of our bone, and flefh of our flefh : 
that fo, he might properly reprefent us, undertake our 
caufe as interefted in it by the ties of one common na^ 
ture, and encourage our moft unlimited confidence \x\ 
his companion and love — Thus hath he humbled, emp- 
tied, and impoverifhed himfelf. As they, in behalf of 
whom he mediated, " were partakers of flefh and 
¥ blood, he alfo took part of the fame :" " he is not 
¥ afhamed to call them brethren :" and, as his union, 
with the Father, in the divine nature, renders him a, 
proper Perfon to vindicate his rights and difplay s his. 
glory \ fo, in virtue of his union with us in the human 
nature, we may moft chearfully rely on him to take 
eare of our immortal fouls. — This alfo fhews the pro- 
priety of his intetpofing in our behalf: for fome con- 
nection or relation is fuppofed to fubfift between the 
Mediator and thofe for whom he acts ; elfe, why does 
he foiicit favour for them, rather than for others in 
fimilar circumflances ? And, even if the plea be fup- 
ported by fome payment or fatisfaclrion made, it feems 
proper, that there fhould be a ground, on which to 
determine for whom this is done, and to whom the 
benefit of it (hall belong. 

When, therefore, the Son of God undertook the 
office of Mediator between God and Man, " he took 
" not on him the nature of Angels," as he meant not 
to mediate in their behalf \ but he aiTumed the human 
nature. And this renders it very obvious and natural 
for us to conclude, that all he did and fufFered on earth, 
and all he now performs in heaven, in the character of 
Mediator, was exclufively intended for the benefit of 



Essay VIII. Office of Christ. 12% 

men, whofe nature he bears, for whom he mediates, and 
to whofe account the whole will be imputed •, that is, to 
fuch of them as avail themfelves of his mediation. For if 
men, who have this divine constitution ftated to them 
with fuitable evidence, do not approve of the Mediator, 
but reje£r. his mediation, they of courfe exclude them- 
felves from the benefit of it. We fhall therefore, in 
the two following EfTays, confider more particularly the 
righteoufnefs and atonement of our great Mediator, and 
his continual interceftion in heaven for us. It is, in- 
deed, almoft impoffible to difcourfe in general concern- 
ing his mediation, without in fome degree adverting to 
thefe fubje&s -, but it would be improper any further to 
anticipate them in this place. 

It does not feem neceflary to attempt a laboured proof, 
that our Lord's mediation is of that nature, and inili- 
tuted for thofe purpofes, which have been {rated. The 
general language of Scripture conveys this idea of it, 
to thoie who underftand and believe it in its obvious 
literal import. In particular the fcope of St. Paul's 
reafoning, in the epiftle to the Hebrews, eftablifhes 
the doclrine under confederation. Was I\'lofes a typical 
mediator, at the giving of the law, that through his 
intervention the national covenant might be ratified be- 
tween God and the people ? This only {had owed forth 
a better covenant, founded on better promifes which 
Chrill had mediated between the Lord and his fpiritual 
Ifrael : and " this Perfon was counted worthy of more 
" honour than IV ofes," being a «« Son over his own 
" houfe," which he had builded ; whereas " Mofes was 
" no more than a fervant," or even a part of the houfe 
itfelf *. Were the high priefts of the order of Aaron, 
typical mediators between God and the people, in vir- 
tue of their perpetual facrifices, and the burning of 
incenfe ? The insufficiency and unprofitablenefs of fuch 
mediators, and of all their facrifices j nd fervices, muft be 
fhewn, to make it manifefL that another Prieft muft arife, 
after another order ; whofe dignity, excellency, and in- 
valuable miniftrations might really efFe£t. thofe ends, 



* Heb. iii. 1....6. 



128 On the Mediatorial Essay VIII. 

which the other merely prefigured and reprefented, as 
in a picture, or rather as an indiftin£t. and feeble iha- 
dow. For through Him accefs was given to believers 
to the Mercy-feat of God, in the holy places not made 
with hands : whereas before, the very fhadow of this 
bleffing was concealed by the Veil, and none might 
approach to it on pain of death, but the high-prieft 
alone ; nor he more than one day in a year, with the 
blood of the facnfices, and the burning of incenfe. 
What do all thefe arguments (which fill up more than 
half this epiftle,) fignify ; but that Jefus is fuch a Me- 
diator, as hath been defcribed ? " There is then one 
" Mediator between God and man ; even the Man 
" Chrift Jefus*." No doubt he is truly Man,^ and per- 
forms his mediation in human nature : for he afTumed 
our flefh for this very purpofe : but the Apoftle, by 
declaring him to be the one Mediator, excludes all 
other mediators. Mofes and the priefts of Aaron's line 
were, in a common fenfe, mediators between God and 
man ; and every believer, when he prays for others, in 
( fome degree ^nterpofes his requefts between God and 
them, to feek mercy in their behalf. Yet Chrift is the 
only Mediator ; becaufe he alone is capable of and 
appointed to perform fuch a mediation, as hath been 
defcribed ; in virtue of his perfonal dignity and the 
ranfcm he hath made. « Through him we have accefs 
*' to the Father.'' " He is our Peace-maker i" « our 
" Advocate with the Father. 5 ' He fays, " I am the 
" Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh 
" to the Father but by mef :" fo that no man ever did, 
or ever will, find acceptance with God, who rejects 
Chriil's mediation. We muft come to God in his 
Name, afking all bleflings for his fake, and prefenting 
all our fervices by his hands, and through his intercef- 
fion, even " giving thanks to God and the Father 
" through him " 

In this view of the fubjecl:, we may confider Chrift, 
as the Mediator between God and man, in fuch a 
fenfe, that no finner on earth can be found to whom we 



* Tim. iii. t John, xiv. 6. 



Essay VIII. Office of Christ. 129 

may not propofe all the benefits of his mediation \ pro- 
vided he truly come to God by faith in Chrift ; where- 
as fallen Angels, and thofe men who have died in their 
fins, are wholly excluded from this benefit by the very 
conftitution of the covenant which he mediated. But 
all other mediators, and all attempts to approach God 
without a Mediator, are an affront both to the Father 
and the Son ; even as the facrifices, which the Ifrael- 
ites offered contrary to the law, were an abomination 
to the Lord. As, therefore, we mull fhortly meet our 
offended Sovereign at his awful tribunal ; let us now 
avail ourfelves of this ineftimable appointment ; and 
constantly approach his throne of grace, through our 
" faithful and merciful High-prieit" and Mediator j 
<c that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in 
« every time of need." 



ESSAY IX. 

On the Merits and Atonement of Christ. 



1 HE opinion, that the Deity might be appeafed 
by expiatory facrifices, has been very widely d'jffufed 
among the human race : and t'he attempt has generally 
been made, by fhedding the blood, and burning a part 
of the body, of fome ufeful animal. This notion and 
practice feem very remote from the dictates of our na- 
tural reafon ; and it is extremely improbable, that they 
mould have been the result of man's invention. We 
may therefore mod rationally conclude, that it is whol- 
ly the doctrine of revelation, and the appointment of 
God, handed down by tradition, from the progenitors 
.of our race to the feveral branches of their pofterity : 
and it is certain that we meet with it in the Bible im- 

M 




130 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

mediately after the entrance of fin. "When Cain's 
oblation of the firft-fruits of the earth was rejected, 
and Abel's facrifice of the firftlings of the flock accept- 
ed ; we may naturally conclude, that the latter was 
prefented according to the divine appointment, and that 
the former was not. But if we enquire into the reafon 
of this appointment, the practice of the patriarchs, and 
the multiplied precepts in the Mofaic law, as to this par- 
ticular : we fhall not eafily arrive at any fatisfaclory 
folution ; except we admit the do&rine of Chrift's 
atonement, and fuppofe the whole to refer to him, as 
the fubftance of all thefe fhadows. I fhall, therefore, 
in this Effay, endeavour to explain, illuftrate, and prove 
that doctrine, and to mew its importance in the Chris- 
tian religion. 

The rules and general ufages, refpe£Hng expiatory 
facrifices under the Old Teftament, may aflift us in un- 
derftanding the nature of our Lord's atonement, of which 
they were types and prefigurations*. The offender, 
whofe crimes might be thus expiated, was required, 
according to the nature of the cafe, to bring " his offer- 
" ing of the flock or of the herd, to the door of the 
(c tabernacle." The very nature of the animals appoint- 
ed for facrifice was fignificant : not the ferocious, the 
noxious, the fubtle, or the unclean ; but fuch as were 
gentle, docile, and valuable \ and none of thefe might 
be offered, but fuch as were <{ without blemidi," or 
perfect in their kind. The offender was directed to 
bring an offering, in which he had a property, to be 
prefented unto God, and thus fubftituted in his ftead 
for this particular purpofe. He rnuft then "lay his 
" hands upon the head" of the facrifice ; which denoted 
the typical tranflation of guilt from him, by imputation 
to the fubftituted animal. This is generally thought to 
have been attended by a confeffion of his fins, and 
prayers for pardon through the acceptance of his obla- 
tion : and doubtlefs it implied as much, and would be 
attended at leaft with fecret devotions to that effect by 
every pious Ifraelitef. The blood of the facrifice was 



* Heb. x. 1. f Lev, i. 4. iii. 2. iv. 4. xv'i. 21. 



Essay IX. Atonement of Christ, 131 

then flied ; which, being the life of every animal, was 
referved to make atonement, and was therefore not 
allowed to be eaten under the Old Teftament difpenfa- 
tion*. Afterwards the body, or a part of it, was burn- 
ed upon the altar with the fire which came immediately 
from heaven, both at the opening of the tabernacle- 
worfhip, and afterwards at the confecration of Solo- 
mon's templef. Now, who can help perceiving, that 
this fire reprefented the avenging j office of God, (who 
is a confuming fire •,) and that, when it confumed the 
harmlefs unblemiihed facrifice, whilft the guilty offerer 
efcaped, it aptly prefigured the way of a finner's falva- 
tion, through the expiatory fufferings of the fpotlefs 
Lamb of God ? The animal's violent death, by the 
fliedding of its blood, denoted the offender's defert of 
temporal death ; and the fubfequent burning of its fat, 
or nelh, fh^wed him to be expofed to future vengeance : 
burthen, they reprefented the guilt and punifhment, in 
both refpe£b, as tranflated from him to the facrifice 
which bore them in his ftead. — The whole ceremony 
concluded with the fprinkling of the blood, and in 
many cafes its application to all thofe things that per- 
tained to the worfhip of God; which evidently typified 
the believer's deliverance from guilt and punifhment, 
from the fting and dread of death, and finally from 
death itfelf, from fin and all its confequences \ the ac- 
ceptance "of his perfon and fervices, and his participa-^ 
tion of eternal life and felicity, through " Him who 
" loved him, and warned him from his fins in his own 
« blood." 

Thefe appointments were varied, in divers particu- 
lars", as they refpe&ed the feveral kinds of facrifices : 
but mofl of them coincided in the grand outlines here 
mentioned. The pafchal Lamb, the flem of which 
was roafted and eaten ; and the bodies of the ' fin-offer- 
ings for the congregation, which were burned without 
the camp, form the principal exceptions : but thefe 
variations ferve to illuflrate the feveral parts of that 



* Gen. ix. 4. Lev. xvii. 11. 
t Lev. ix. 24. 2 Chroa. vii. 1... 



132 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

great fubjeft, which was exhibited by them. Even 
the thank-offerings and peace-offerings, though evident- 
ly typical of the believer's fpiritual worfhip, and com- 
munion with God and with the faints ; were all attend- 
ed with the {bedding and fprinkling of the blood, and 
the burning of the fat, of the facrifice on which they 
feafted. Nay, the very purifications with water, (the 
emblem of fan&ification,) the re-admiffion of a leper 
into the congregation, the confecration of a prieft, 
and the performance of a Nazarite's vow, were in dif- 
ferent ways connected with the fame obfervances. " Al- 
" moil all things were purged with blood, and without 
" fhedding of blood there was no remiffion* :" fo that 
this ran through the whole ritual law, and was inter- 
woven with every part of the worfhip performed by the 
ancient church of God. 

We need not be furprifed, that they who overlook 
the typical import of the ritual law, or doubt of the 
atonement of Chrift, fhould either confider thefe infti- 
tutions as c an overgrown mafs of trivial ceremonies ;' 
or attempt to account for them from the policy of Mo- 
fes *, or trace them from the cuftoms of the (unround- 
ing nations. But indeed the Ifraelites were exprefsly 
forbidden to imitate the Gentiles : feveral inftitutions in 
the law were intended to keep them at a diftance from 
their fuperftitions : if any agreement be found in other 
refpecb ; it is far more reasonable to fuppofe, that the 
Gentiles borrowed their ufages from the Ifraelites, than 
that the Ifraelites were encouraged or required to copy 
the worfhip of idolaters : and the epiftle to the Hebrews 
fufficiently proves to all who read it as the word of God, 
that thefe ceremonies were fhadows or types of the re- 
demption by Jefus Chrift as made by him, and as re- 
ceived by the believer. — Indeed fome perfons, of great 
eminence in their line, would perfuade us, that the 
penmen of the-'New Teftament accommodated their lan- 
guage on this fubje£t to the ufages of the Jews ; and 
rather wrote agreeably to vulgar notions and prejudices, 
than according to the true nature of the fubjed. This 



Heb. 



Essay IX. Atonement of Christ. 133 

mull mean, (if it mean any thing more, than at any 
rate to evade an argument which cannot be anfwered,) 
that the Apoftles were mifaken, or that they wilfully mif- 
fed mankind. We may therefore fafely infer, from this 
method of reafoning on fuch a fubject, that the divine 
infpiration of the New Teftament in general, of the 
Epiftles in particular, and efpecially of that to the He- 
brews, muft be given up by all who perfift in denying 
the real atonement of Chrif ; whenever this argument is 
ufed againft them with energy, by fo me able and zeal- 
ous controverfialift : or at leaft, that they muft be for- 
ced to betake themfelyes to evafion, and other ingenious 
ways of lofmg fight of the precife point contefted with 
them. 

As every one of the grand divifions of holy Scripture 
carries along with it the evidence of its own divine 
original : fo, it may not be unfeafonable to obferve, 
that this is particularly the cafe with the books of Mofes, 
which fome have lately affe&ed to fpeak of, as a ref- 
peflable ancient compoftion ; yet with very plain intima- 
tions, that they are not to be regarded as of divine in- 
fpiration. But are not the prophecies, contained in 
thefe books, fulfilling even at this day, in the ftate of 
the Jewifh nation, and of the pofterity of Ham ? Did 
not our Lord quote them as the unerring word of God, 
and not merely as the words of Mofes* ? And can any 
man truly believe in Chrift, who fpeaks of thofe books 
as a human compofition, which he quoted, and by 
quoting authenticated, as the oracles of God? — But, it 
is moft to our prefent purpofe to obferve, that the afton- 
ifhing coincidence between the types of the law, and 
the language ufed concerning Chrift by his Apoftles, 
eftabliihes the authority of the books of Mofes, infepar- 
ably from that of the New Teftament, as well as teaches 
us the real meaning of them. If attempts to leffen our 
regard to this part of Scripture be -not the covert attacks 
of infidelity, moft certainly they are well calculated to 
fubferve its caufe. 

* Matt. iv. 4, 7, 10. xxii. 31, 32. Luke, xxiv. 27, 44, 

M 2 



134 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

" Known unto God are all his works, from the 
" beginning of the world*." What man of common 
fenfe therefore, if not warped by prejudice, can fuppofe 
that the Lord, having appointed a number of ceremonies, 
without any reference j:o a future difpenfation, and not 
fuited to give mankind any juft views of it, but the con- 
trary ; mould afterwards fo arrange that difpenfation, 
or at leaft leave his fervants fo to fpeak of it, as to lead 
men to form notions more conformed to thofe antiquat- 
ed rites, than to its real nature ? Who can conceive, 
that this new revelation mould be made in fuch lan- 
guage, as muft give believers erroneous views of it ; 
unlefs they are extremely careful how they underftand 
it, make large allowances for the prejudices of educa- 
tion in thofe who firft propagated it, and employ much 
ingenious labour to difcover the truth, by diverting it of 
the numerous metaphors under which it lies concealed 
or obfcured ? Surely, if we allow the Scriptures to be 
the word of the unerring, unchangeable, and all-wife 
God, we can fcarcely fpeak of fuch a method of inter- 
pretation, without failing of that reverence which we 
owe to his divine Majefty ! Does an architect, when. 
about to erecl: a magnificent edifice, purpofely arrange 
his plan to fuit fome inconvenient fcaffolding, which 
happens to be upon the fpot, having been raifed on 
another occafion ? If he build according to a fcaffolding, 
previoufly made by his directions ; is he ever fuppofed 
to form the plan of his Itrucliure for the fake of the fcaf- 
folding ? Or does any one doubt, that the fcaffolding 
was raifed to fuit the plan he had already drawn for his 
intended building ? And is it not almoit infinitely more 
rational to fuppofe, that the Mofaic law was arranged, 
with a reference to the future revelation of the gofpel ; 
than that the gofpel was obfcured, and even mif-Jlated, 
that it might be made apparently to accord to the abro- 
gated ceremonies of the law ? 

Though " without fhedding of blood, there was 
" no remiffion" of fins, under the old difpenfation ; 
yet it was not poffible, that the blood of bulls and of 



* ActSjlxv. 18. 



Essay IX: Atonement of Christ, 135 

« goats fhould take away fins*." If the queflion mould 
be propofed to a Socinian, why " this was not pof- 
" fible ?" he might perhaps find it not very eafy to give 
a direct and fatisfaclory anfwer. But if we allow, (ac- 
cording to the idea of " no remiffion without fhedding 
*< of blood,") that the neceffity of an atonement, in or- 
der to forgivenefs, originates from the infinite holinefs 
and juftice of God, and the intrinfic evil and defert of 
fin ; and the confequent impoffibility that He could pafs 
by fin, without fhewing his abhorrence of it, and de- 
termination to punifh it according to its demerit : we 
fhall readily perceive, that nothing could render it con^ 
fiftent with the divine glory to pardon and fave finners,. 
which did not exhibit his juftice and holinefs in as clear 
a light in fhewing them mercy, as thefe attributes would 
have appeared in, had he executed the threatened ven- 
geance. And if this were the cafe, however it might 
fuit the defign of infinite wifdom, to appoint the facri- 
fices of lambs, bulls, and goats, as types and fhadows, 
means of grace, or conditions of temporal remiffion : 
yet they could not poffibly take away the guilt of fin, be- 
caufe they were not adequate exhibitions of the infinite juf- 
tice and holinefs of God. — For, what proportion could the 
death of an animal bear to the remiffion of that guilt, 
which merited the eternal punifhment of an immortal 
foul ? Or how could rational creatures behold, in fuch 
an obfervance, God's holy hatred of fin and love of fin- 
ners ? The fame reafoning is conclufive, in refpecl: of 
the vicarious fufferings of any mere man, or creature. 

Suppofe it were right that one creature fhould bear 
the punifhment merited by another ; and that one could 
be found, free from guilt, and willing to be fubflituted 
in the place of his guilty fellow-creature : yet he could 
anfwer, one for one, body for body, life for life, foul for 
foul : his temporal fufferings could only anfwer to the 
temporal releafe of the condemned criminal ; but could 
not be an adequate ranfom for his immortal foul from 
future punifhment ; much lefs could it expiate the guilt 
of the unnumbered crimes of many millions. Should it 
be faid, that this might be, if God had fo appointed :: I 

* ITe'% ix. 22, x, 4. 



136 On the Merits and "Essay IX. 

anfwer, that God appointed the facrifices of bulls and 
goats ; yet it was " inipoffible, that they fhould take 
i( away fin :" and for the reafon before affigned, it was 
impoffible that God ihould appoint them as more than 
a type of the real atonement,- —But no mere man can be 
found, who has not himfelf deferved the wrath of God : 
no man's body and foul are his own : no mere creature 
could be willing to bear the vengeance of heaven for 
another, if he might ; and none might if he would. 
It may be our duty to lay down oar lives for our brethren j 
but it cannot be allowable for us to chufe to be eternally 
unholy and miferable. The eternal Son of the Father, 
therefore, feeing that no other faerifice could fuffice, 
faid, " Lo, I come to do thy will, O God*." 

I do not fay, that the Lord could not have devifed 
fome other way of redemption : but we can conceive no 
other, by which perfect juftice and purity could har- 
monize with boundlefs mercy *, and as infinite wifdom 
gave this the preference, we are fure that it was in itfelf 
moft eligible. The dignity of the divine Redeemer, as 
One with the Father in the unity of the Godhead ; his 
eternal relation to the Father, as the adequate objecl: of 
his infinite love ; his appointment to, and voluntary fuf- 
ception of, his office ; his incarnation, and confequent 
relation to us in the human nature ; the perfect purity 
of his manhood ; the complete obedience of his whole 
life, amidft all kinds of difficulties and temptations ; the 
tortures and ignominy of his death •, the entire refigna- 
tion and meeknefs with which he fuffered ; the princi- 
ple from which his obedience and fubmiifion fprang ; 
and the end to which the whole was directed ; when 
duly confidered and eitimated, will combine to fhew, 
that he more honoured the law of God and its awful 
fan£Hon, by his righteoufnefs and atonement, than if 
all men had either perfectly obeyed or finally perifhed. 
When the Father was pleafed thus to "wound and bruife 
his well beloved Son, for the tranfgreffions of his peo- 
ple ; his judgment concerning the evil and defert of fin 
appeared molt iiluftrious ! His love to finners was fhewn 



* lieb. x. 4,.., 10. 



Essay XI. Atonement of Christ. 137 

to be inconceivably great ; yet .he would rather lay the 
load of their guilt and punifhment on Him " in whom 
" his foul delighted," than pardon them without tefli- 
fying his abhorrence of their crimes ! No encourage- 
ment could thus be given to others to venture on fin : 
no other facrifice of this value and efficacy could be 
found : all mud fee, that punifhment was not the krB± 
trary ac~l of an inexorable Judge • but the unavoidable refuli 
of perfect holinefs and jufiice y even in a Being of infinite 
mercy. Thus every mouth will at length be flopped, or 
filled with adoration , every heart impreffed with awe 
and aftonifhment ; every hope taken away from the im- 
penitent and prefumptuous ; and the glory of God more 
fully manifefted in all his harmonious perfections, than, 
by all his other works, judgments, and difpenfations. 
The flory of Zaleucus, prince of the Locrians, is well 
known : to fhew his abhorrence of adultery, and his 
determination to execute the law he had enacted, con- 
demning the adulterer to the lofs of both his eyes *, and 
at the fame time to evince his love to his fon who had 
committed that crime ; he willingly fubmitted to lofe 
one of his own eyes, and ordered at the fame time one 
of his fon's to be put out ! Now what adulterer could 
hope to efcape, when power was veiled in a man, whom 
neither felf-love, nor natural affection in its greateft 
force, could induce to difpenfe with the law, or relax 
the rigour of its fentence ? Thus the language both of 
the Father and of the Son, in this way of faving fin- 
ners, is manifeftly, « Let the law be magnified and 
* made honourable, in the fight of the whole univerfe.' 

I would not embarrafs thefe brief EiTays by any thing 
fuperfluous or dubious : yet it feems to fall in with the 
defign of them, to obferve, that the reward of righ-, 
teoufnefs is not annexed to a mere exemption from fin ; (for 
Adam on the day of his creation was free from fin •,) 
but to actual obedience during the appointed term of proba- 
tion. So that the perfect righteoufnefs of Chrift was as 
neceffary, as the atonement of Ijis death, to his mediato- 
rial work on earth : not only, as freedom from perfonal 
guilt was requifite, in order to his bearing and expiating 
the fins of his people ; but alfo as the meritorious pur- 
chafe of their forfeited inheritance^ that the fecond 



138 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

Adam's benefit might anfwer to the lofs fuftained 
through the firft Adam. His was however a fuffering 
obedience, and fo expiatory ; his death was the higheft 
perfection of obedience and fo meritorious. We need 
not therefore very exactly diftinguifh between them : 
yet it is proper to maintain, that the believer is pardon- 
ed, becaufe his fin was imputed to Chrift, and expiated 
by his facrifice * and that he is juftined and made an 
heir of heaven, becaufe Chrift " brought in aneverlaft- 
" ing righteoufnefs," " which is unto, and upon, all 
" them that believe : for there is no difference." Our 
Lord did not indeed bear all the mifery to which the Tin- 
ner is expofed : not being personally guilty, he could 
not endure the torments of an accufmg confcience ; 
knowing that he mould triumph and reign in glory, he 
could not feel the horrors of defpair \ and his infinite 
dignity rendering him able at once to make an ail-fuf- 
ficient atonement, it-was not requisite that his fufferings 
fhould be eternal, as ours mull otherwife have been. 
But he endured the fcorn, rage, and cruelty of men, 
and all which they could infiicl ; the utmoft malice of 
the powers of darltnefs ; and the wrath and righteous 
vengeance of the Father : he bore fhame, pain, and 
death in all its bitternefs ; and what he fuffered in his 
foul, during his agonies in the garden, and when he 
exclaimed on the crois, «.» My God, my God, why 
" haft thou forfaken me ?" we cannot conceive. We 
only know, that " it pleafed the Lord to bruife him :" 
the fword of vengeance awoke againft him, and the 
" Father fparedhim noL" We may, therefore, con- 
clude, that he endured as much of that very mifery, 
which the wicked will endure from the wrath of God, 
and the malice of the infernal powers, as could confift 
with perfect innocence, fupreme love, and the fure 
hope of fpeedy and final deliverance. 

Many objections have been made to the doctrine of a 
real atonement) and a vicarious facrifice for Jin ; as if it 
were irrational, or unjuit, or give an unamiable view of 
the divine character; or as if it were unfavourable to the 
caufe of morality and virtue : and great pains have been 
taken to explain away the language of holy Scripture on 
this fubjecl, as if it did not imply any of thofe things, 



Essay IX. Atonement of Christ. 139 

which the unlearned reader is apt to infer from it. It 
cannot be expected, that I (hould give a particular anfwer 
to each of thefe objections, which refult rather from the 
flate of men's hearts, than from any folid grounds of 
reafoning: it may fuffice to obferve in general, that 
" God hath made fooliffi the wifdom of this world •," 
that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the 
« Spirit of God, for they are foolifhnefs to him ;" and es- 
pecially, that "■ the preaching of the crofs is foolifhnefs to 
« them that perifh." Adverting to fuch teftimonies of 
the Holy Spirit, we (hall know what to think concerning 
thofe exclamations of irrational and abfurd, which many 
of thofe, who are wife in tnis world anJ in their own eyes, 
employ in oppoling the 'doctrine of the atonement. 
— Neither can there be any injujlice in this (tatement of 
it : for if One, who was both able and willing to do it, 
was pleafed to ranfom his brethren from deferved eternal 
ruin, by enduring temporal mrrerings and death as their 
Surety, what injuftice could there be in accepting fuch a 
vicarious fatisfaction for fin ? And how can that doctrine 
give an unamtable view of the Deity, which (hews him to 
be infinite in righteoufnefs, holinefs, love, mercy, faith- 
fulnefs and wifdom ; and difplays all thefe, and every 
other conceivable moral excellency? in full perfection and, 
entire harmony ? It can only appear fo to tinners ; be~ 
caufe jujlice and holinefs are not amiable in the eyes of the 
unjuft and unholy. Or how can that doctrine be preju- 
dicial to the caufe of morality, which furnifhes the mod 
powerful motives and encouragements to holinefs-, and 
.{hews (in in all its horrid deformity, and with all its tre- 
mendous effects ; and which has uniformly done more 
to "teach men to deny ungodiinefs and worldly lufts, 
" and to live foberly, righueoufly, and godly in this pre- 
" fent world," than all other expedients befides have 
even appeared to do ? » 

Let us. then proceed to Itate a few felect arguments, 
which demonstrate that the doctrine, as it hath been 
explained and illuitrated, is contained in the holy 
Scriptures. 

I. The language ufed in them is decifive. It is not 
only faid, that Jefus "redeemed us from the curfe of 



140 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

<f the law, being made a curfe for us* ;" that " he fuffered 
" once for fns, the jufi for" (or infeadof) « the unjuff ; " 
out that *« he bare our fins in his own body on the tree ; ?> 
and « <iv as made fin for us\" The prophet, fpeaking a- 
bbve 700 years before, "of the full-rings of Chrift, and 
" the glory that fhould follow," having obferved, that 
(t he bore our griefs and carried our forrows," M was 
!g wounded for our tranfgreflions and bruifed fbr our 
" iniquties," (hews the reafon of this, by adding that " the 
is Lord tatity or caufedto meet, u on him the iniquity of us 
<J ail :" fo that " it -was exacled and he became anfwerable\\ " 
" according to the genuine meaning of the next words, 
" rendered in our verfion, " He was oppreffcd, and he was 
« afflicted " — Thus he would "juftify many, for he 
(i would bear their iniquities" and not merely the punifi- 
ment due to them.— Wc may, in many cafes, fay that the 
innocent fuffers for the guilty, when one is expofed to lofs 
or pain by means of another's fault, or for his benefit : 
but can it be faid, with propriety, that the Lord lays upon 
the innocent fuiferer the iniquity of the offender, or that 
the latter bears the fins of the former; when no tranlla- 
tion or imputation of guilt is intended, and no real 
atonement made ? If fo, what words can convey the ideas 
of imputation and atonement ? What determinate mean- 
ing can there be in language ? Or what doctrine can be 
deduced with certainty from the facred oracles ? The ex- 
preilions, ranfomed, redemption, pur chafed, bought with a 
price, propitiation, and fevefal others, concur to prove this 
do£h\ne. 

II. The teftimony of John Baptift, " Behold the 
" Lamb of God, which taketh away the fin of the 
(c worid§," contains a very conclufive argument on this 
fubj^Ct. Whatever other reafons may be thought of, 
for a lamb being the feletted emblem of the Lord Jefus ; 
he could not 'as ( - a Lamb take away fin" except " by 
" the facrihee of himfelf :" his teaching, rule, and ex- 
ample, tend in different ways to reform mankind ; and 



* Gal Hi. la. f 1 Pet. iii. 18. Isa. liii. 

\ % Cor. y. 21. 1 Pet. ii. 24. 

1 1 Biihop Low th's Translation of Isaiah. 

§ JoliD i. 29. 






Essay IX. Atonement of Christ. 14-1 

the influences of his Spirit fan&ify the believer's heart. 
In thefe refpe&s he may be faid in fome fenfe to take 
away fin : but as a Lamb, he could only take away the 
guilt of it by giving himfelf to be flain, that he might 
« redeem us to God with his blood :" being the Anti- 
type of the pafchal lambs and daily facrifices, even " the 
" Lamb ilain from the foundation of the world." 

III. When the Apoftle argues, that *' if Chrift were 
" not rifen, the Corinthians were $e*. in their fins* ;* 
what could he mean, but that, as ric^«MJ^£ could prove 
the reality and efficacy of Chrift's atonement, except 
his refurre&ion ; fo nothing could take away their guilt 
but that atonement ? For their reformation and conver- 
fion to the worfhip and fervice of the true God was a 
fa£fc, which could not be denied, whatever men thought 
of the doctrines in queftion. 

IV. The fame Apoftle fays, that " Chrift will appear 
" the fecond time without fin unto falvationf." « But 

* did he not appear the firft time "without fin ? — what 

* then is the meaning of th-s oppofition, that at his firft 

* coming he bare our fins > but at his fecond he {hall 

* appear without fin ? The words can have no other 
« imaginable fenfe, but that at his firft coming he fuf- 

* tained the perfon of aftnne> , and fuffered vfiead of us ; 
( but at his fecond coming he mall appear, not as a 
c Sacrifice, but as a judgeij:." 

V. The apoftolical method of exhorting men to ho- 
linefs evinces the fame point. They uniformly draw 
their arguments, motives, and encouragements from 
the crofs of Chrift i — " His own felf bare our fins in 
" his own body on the tree, that we being dead to fin, 
" might live in righteoufnefs" " Ye are bought with a 
" price j therefore, glorify God with your bodies and 
" fpirits which are his !" This is indeed the diftinguifh- 
ing peculiarity of their exhortations, in which they 
differ from all others, who have attempted to excite 
men to virtue or morality§. 



* 1 Cor. xv. 17. f Heb. ix. 28. J Tilktson. 
§ 1 Cor. \ i. 20. 1 Pet. ii. 24. 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. Eph. v. 1, 2, 
25, 26. TV. ii. 11.... 1 . 1 Pet. i. 13....20. 

N 



142 On the Merits and Essay IX. 

VI. The appointment of the Lord's fupper, in re- 
membrance of the body of Chrifl broken, and his blood 
^ poured out, and as a reprefentation of the manner in 
which we become interfiled in the bleffings of his fal- 
valion, even by " eating his flefh and drinking his 
" blood*," is a moft conclufive argument on this fubiect. 
The peculiar nature and intent of this ordinance will be 
confidered in a fubfequent EfTay : but the fpecial event 
commemoratedr j>xl the words of our Lord when he 
appointed it ***fliis is my blood of the New i eflament, 
« which is fhed for you and for many, for the remimon 
" of fins ;" do manif'ieftly prove that his death was a 
real atonement ; that this atonement is the grand pecu- 
liarity of the gofpel ; and that no man is a genuine 
Chriftian, unlefs by true faith he become a partaker of 
that ineftimable benefit. 

VII. Laflly, The fongs of the redeemed in heaven, 
even of thofe who had " come out of great tribulation," 
and had fhed their blood as martyrs in the caufe of 
Chrifl, may well clofe thefe brief but unanfwerable 
arguments in proof of this important doctrine. — "With- 
out one difcordant voice, they afcribe their falvation to 
" the Lamb that was flain, and had redeemed them to 
" God with his blood ;" " Who had warned them from 
" their fins in his own blood." — But in what fenfe 
could the Lamb that nvas Jlain ivafh them from their fins 
hi his own blood, unlefs he were truly and literally an 
atoning-facrifice for them ? This likewife fhews the vaft 
importance of the doctrine in the Chriftian fyflem. It 
is indeed efTential to it : for he, who denies or over- 
looks it, cannot have the fame judgment of the divine 
perfections, law, and government ; or of the evil and 
defert of fin, which real Chriflians have. He cannot 
approach God in the fame way, or with the fame plea. 
He cannot exercife the fame kind of repentance or 
faith ; or feel himfelf under the fame obligations, and 
influenced by the fame motives, as they are. He can- 
not pray, or thank and blefs God, for the fame bene- 
fits ; or have the fame reafons for gratitude, humility, 



* John, vi. 48....5S. 



Essay IX. Atonement of Christ. 143 

patience, and rneeknefs. In a word he cannot be meet 
for the fame heaven ; but would diflike the company, 
diffent from the worihip, and difrdifh the employments 
and pleafures, of thofe who afcribe all their faivation 
to the atoning blood of the Lamb. And is not this 
fu indent to prove that he cannot poflibly be partaker of 
the hope, the love, the joy, which are peculiar to the 
religion of the crucified Emmanuel ? 

It is however to be feared, that numbers afTent to 
this doctrine, who neither underftand its nature and 
tendency, nor are fuitabiy influenced by it. The crofs 
of Chriil, when contemplated by an enlightened mind, 
moll emphatically teaches the glory and beauty of the 
divine character, the reafonablenefs and excellence of 
the moral law ; the value of immortal fouls, the vanity 
of earthly diilinclions, the mifery of the mod profper- 
ous tranfgrefTors, the malignity of fin, the loft eftate 
of man, the prefumption of every felf-righteous con- 
fidence, the ineftimable value of this foundation for 
our hope, the finner's motives and encouragements to 
repentance, and the believer's obligations to the moil 
felf-denying and devoted obedience to his reconciled 
God and Father. — He therefore, who truly believes, 
and fpiritually underftands this doclrine, and who glo- 
ries in the crois of Chriil alone, will habitually give 
his eternal concerns a decided preference to every world- 
ly object. He will feel an earned defire to promote 
the faivation of fouls efpecially the fouls of thofe who 
are moil dear to him. He will be " crucified to the 
" world, and the world to him." He will repent of, 
hate, and forfake all his (ins, and feek the crucifixion 
of every finful propenfity. Though he entirely re- 
nounces all other confidence, fave in the unmerited 
mercy of God in Chrift Jefus ; he will yet deem it his 
pleafure, privilege, and honour to live " to him, who 
" died for him and rofe again." — The example and love 
of Chriil will reconcile him to reproach, contempt, felf- 
denial, and perfecution for righteoufnefs' fake ; and dif- 
pofe him to forgivenefs, love of enemies, enlarged 
benevolence, and whatever can " adorn the doctrine 
"of God our Saviour •' ' 



144 Merits and Atonement of Christ. Essay IX. 

Whilft we would therefore "contend earneftly for 
" the faith once delivered to the faints •," we would alfo 
caution every one not to " imprifoh the truth in unrigh- 
" teoufnefs." They, who vilify the atonement, are not 
the only « enemies of the crofs of Chrift :" for fuch as 
hold it in a carnal heart, and difgrace it by a fenfual 
life, fall under the fame condemnation*. It is to be 
feared, that many, who are zealous againft the fatal 
Socinian herefy, are tainted Math the abominable infec- 
tion of Antinomianifm : and that numbers of another 
defcription, who contend for the doctrine of the atone- 
ment, do neverthelefs reft their hope for falvafion prin- 
cipally upon their own moral goodnefs, and not on the 
merits and expiatory fufferings of Chrift. But as that 
" God of all grace/' " who fpared not his own Son hut 
" delivered him up for us all," will " with him freely 
" give all things" to the true believer ; fo afiuredly he 
will not in his awful juftice fpare any of thofe, who 
oppofe, neglect, or abufe his great falvation : for, " our 
** God is a confuming fire !" 



ESSAY X. 

On our Lord^s Exaltation^ and his Appearance in 
the presence of God for us* 



W HEN our Saviour upon the crofs was about to 
commend his fpirit into the Father's hands, he faid 
•f It is finifhed." Whatever the types had prefigured, 
or the prophets foretold, concerning his obedience, 
conflicts, and fufferings j whatever the glory of God, 



* Phil. iii. 18....21, 



Essay X. On our Lord's Exaltation. 145 

the honour of the law, or the rights and fatisfa&ion of 
divine juftice, required ; and whatever was necefiary, 
in order to his own final victory, triumph, and exalta- 
tion at the right hand of the Father in our behalf, was 
then fully accomplifhed \ that is, as far as it could be, 
previoufly to his death which immediately followed. He 
then became conqueror over the world, fin, and fatan, 
(triumphing over them even on the crofs ;) and, having 
confecrated the grave by his burial, to be a facred re- 
pofitory for the bodies of his difciples, he arofe on the 
third day a mighty Victor over the king of terrors : and 
at that crifis commenced the glory which was to follow 
his fufferings. 

The evidences of our Lord's refurrection have been 
already confidered* > the ends anfwered by the great 
event may here be briefly mentioned. He thus confirm- 
ed, beyond all reafonable doubt, eery part of the doc- 
trine he had taught ; proving efpecially that he was the 
Son of God, in that peculiar and appropriate fenfe, in 
which he had claimed that high relation to the Father, 
and for which he had been condemned as a blafphemer. 
He fully evinced, that his atonement had been accepted, 
and had effectually anfwered thofe great and gracious 
purpofes, for which it had been 'made. He thus be- 
came capable of poflefling in our nature the mediatorial 
throne, which had been covenanted to him as the re- 
ward of his obedience and fufferings ; and to appear, 
as our Advocate and IntercefTor, in the prefence of the 
Father : being our Brother, and glorying in that con- 
defcending relation to us. And finally, he was the firft- 
fruits of the general refurreclion, the earneft and pledge 
of that grand and interefting event. 

I (hall not further enlarge on the circumftances of 
our Lord's refurre£tion, or the inilruc?cions that may 
be deduced from it : but as his mediation is naturally 
divided into two diflincl: parts, it regularly falls within 
the plan of this work, to confider at prefent that part 
which he now performs in his heavenly glory ; as we 
before did that, which he fulfilled during Ufhumiiia- 



* Essay I. p. 15.*,. 17. 
3S2 ' 



J46 On our Lord's Exaltation and Essay X. 

tion on earth. From the depth of his voluntary abafe- 
ment, " he afcended far above all heavens, that he 
" might fill all things." He then n led captivity cap- 
" tive, and received gifts for men, yea, for the rebel- 
K( lious alfo •, that the Lord God mu_ht dwell among 
" them*." « For the heavens muft receive him, until 
" the reftitution of all thingsf." " I go," fays he to 
his difciples, " to prepare a place for you, I will come 
" again and receive you to myfeif, that where I am 
" there you may be aifoj." We will therefore, in this 
Effay, point out the purpofes for which Jefus our Fore- 
runner, " hath for us entered into heaven," and the 
means by which he prepares the way for our admiffion 
to the fame place of holy felicity. 

The royal prophet introduces Jehovah declaring with 
*an oath, denoting " the immutability of his counfel," 
that the Meifiah was conftituted " a Priefl for ever, 
" after the order of Melchizedek§ ;" and the Apoftle 
thence argues,^ that the Aaronick priefthood was never 
intended to be perpetual. Now Melchizedek's rrieft- 
hood efpecially differed from that of Aaron, in that 
it united the regal power with the facerdotal office ; 
which fhewed that the Meffiah wa' to "be a Priefl upon 
" a throne|| :" Before we proceed with the fubje£t, how- 
ever, I would obferve, that it affords us a moft conclu- 
five proof of our Lord's Deity. The facred hiftorian 
makes no mention of Melchizedek's " father, mother, 
" pedigree, beginning of life, or end of days ■," but in- 
troduces him to our notice, with myfterious abruptnefs ;" 
•* being" fays the Apoftle " made like unto the Son of 
u God**" But in what fenfe could this circumftance 
render him " like the Son of God," or a proper type of 
him, except as it was a fhadow of his eternal pre-exift- 
ence ? As man, he had beginning of life like his breth- 
ren *, and if He, who tabernacled in our nature, had 
been a pre-exiftent creature of the higheft order, he 
muft neverthelefs have had beginning of life ; and the 
rp _ n _ 

* Hs, rxviii. 18. Eph. iv. 7....16. f Acts, iii. 21. 

$ John, xiv. 2, 3. 

f Ps. ex. 4. Gen. xiv. 18. Heb. vii. 

fl Zee vi. 9....5. ** Htb. vii. 13. . 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us. 147 

emphatic filence of Mofes, refpecting the birth of Mel- 
chizedek, could not have represented him, m any fenfe, 
-as, " like the Son of God." 

The High- Prief hood oi Chriit, in the fan&uary above, 
iirft require our confideration. On the great day o€ 
atonement*, the high-prieft (not arrayed in his robes of 
glory and beauty, but, clad in linen garments like his 
brethren.) having offered the fin-offerings for himfelf 
and for the people, entered the holy of holies, with the 
fprinkling of blood, and the burning of incenfe by the 
fire taken from the altar of burnt-offering : and thus 
as Ifrael's typical Interceffor, he appeared before the 
Mercy-feat, as in the prefence of God, for them. From 
the holy nation a holy tribe was feleclied, from that tribe 
a holy family, and from that family a holy perfon ; (that is 
typically, and by eonfecration :) yet even this individual, 
felected with fuch care and fo many precautions, from 
the whole human race, was not allowed on pain of 
death to enter within the veil, or to approach Jehovah 
even on a Mercy-feat, except on one f day in a year; 
nor on that day, without the previous offering of facri- 
fices the blood of which he muff fprinkle before the 
a*k, whillt the fmoke of the incenfe perfumed the holy 
•place. The whole of this appointment was calculated 
to fhew, in the moft fignificant manner,, to what an 
immenfe diftance from their Creator fin had removed 
fallen men ; and how difficult it was to render their 
return, and re-admifiion to his favour, confident with 
the honour of his infinite juftice and holinefs. 

In like manner, our great High-Prielt, laying afide 
his robes of light and majeffy, appeared in the mean 
attire of our nature ; and " was made in all things 
like unto his brethren," except as he was free from the 
leait defilement of fin : and having on earth offered his 
one ail-iufficient facriflce, he afcended into heaven, to 
appear before the Mercy-feat, in the true fan&uary, in 
the immediate " prefence of God for us ; bearing our 
nature, and pleading in our behalf the merits of his 
perrecl: obedience and ineftimable atonement; that we 



* Lev. xv i. 



148 On our Lord's Exaltation and Essay X: 

might be delivered from going down into the pit, 
through the ranfom he had paid in our behalf*'. The 
Apoftle writing to the Hebrews, difcuffes this fubje£r. 
very fully, and fhews in how many and important par-, 
ticulars the Antitype exceeded, and confequently differ- 
ed from, the Type. — With lively and joyful gratitude 
he expatiates on the companion, faithfuinefs, and 
power of our great High-Prieit ; on his divine dignity, 
and his condefcenfion in affuming our nature, and own- 
ing us as his brethren ; on his fympathy with us in our 
forrows and temptations ; on the prevalency of his in- 
terceilion, and the unchangeable nature of that office 
which he ever liveth to perform. He fhews us, that, 
by the offering of his ilefh, " the way into the holiefl is 
M laid open/' and that we may now draw near with 
boldnefs, through the rended veil, to the Mercy-feat of 
our reconciled God ; that by the blood of the new cove- 
nant, the heavenly things themfelves afe purified ; (that 
is, they are not polluted by the admiffion of finners to 
them, in this appointed way ;) and that, " fuch a High- 
." Pried became us" or fuited our cafe, " who was holy, 
" harmlefs, undefiled, and feparate from finners." In 
another epiffle, he grounds his defiance of all enemies 
principally on this doctrine, that Chrift "died, yea 
" rather is rifen again, and is even at the right hand of 
" God, who alfo maketh intercefhon for usf :" And to 
another church he fhews, that " through Him both 
«* Jews and Gentiles have accefs by one Spirit unto the 
" Father^:" In like manner, John alfo thus inftru&s 
his chriflian brethren, u If any man fin, we have an 
<k Advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous ; 
" and he is the propitiation for our fins ; and not for 
u ours only, but alfo for the fins of the whole world§." 
Many other teflimonies to the fame effe£r. might be ad- 
duced : but thefe may fuffice to our prefent purpofe ; 
except as we advert to our Lord's own words, when he 
fays " I am the Door, by me whofoever enters in fhall 
* f be faved|| j" and " I am the Way> the Truth and the 



* Job. xxxiii. 24. f Horn. viii. 33.... 39. % Eph. ii. 18. 
§ 1 John ii. 1, 2, Jj John x, 9. xlv. 6. 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us, 149 

" Life, no man comeih to the Father, but by me 5" and 
to his prayer, in behalf of his difciple juft before his 
crucifixion, which may be confidered as the fpecimen 
and fubftance of his interceffion*. From thefe Scrip- 
tures we learn, that miners are not admitted in their own 
name, even to a Mercy-feat to fupplicate pardon ; but in 
the name and through the interceilion of Chrift : that 
their pleas mult not be drawn from their own character, 
fituation, or fervices ; nor even from the general good- 
nefs and compaffion of God ; but wholly from the Per- 
fon, work, and merits of Emmanuel : and that his pleas 
in their behalf are wholly deduced from what he hath 
done and fufTered, in their nature and for their benefit. 

It is not neceflary or proper for us to imagine any 
outward tranfaetJons, which accords to an high-prieft 
burning incenfe, to an advocate pleading a caufe, or to 
a friend and brother making interceffion Heavenly 
things are represented to our minds under fuch emblems, 
to give us true ideas of their nature, not to convey to us 
adequate apprehenfions of the manner of them. Thus 
Chrift is reprefented as appearing in heaven, as a Lamb 
that had been flain, to inftrucl: us in the reality and ef- 
ficacy of his atonement ; and his officiating as a Prieft, 
or pleading as an Advocate, conveys fimilar inftripEtion, 
Thence we may learn, that his interpofition in our be- 
half, through the merits of his obedience unto death, 
renders our finful perfons and fervices accepted with the 
Father, and fecures to us deliverance from every enemy 
and evil, the fupply of every want, and the eternal en- 
joyment of all felicity. Further than this we need not 
determine : He and the Father are One in LfTence, coun- 
i€i, and will ; and his mediation cannot but be effectual} 
in behalf of all who came to God through him. For it 
hath been repeatedly obferved, (though oppofers of thefe 
doctrines, either wilfully or carelefsly, remain ignorant 
of it;) that the atonement and interceffion of Chrift 
were not intended to induce God to few mercy ; but to 
render the exercife of his love to fnners confiftent with the 
honour of his law, and the glory of his name : and this 
fingle propofition, well underftood, fuffices to prove 

' ■ "~~ ■ 1 

* John xv.iit 



150 On our Lord 9 s Exaltation and Essay M 

whole volumes, that have been publifhed on the fub- 
je£t, to be an empty conteft with an imaginary oppo- 
nent, and a triumph for an ideal victory. Whilft our 
Lord, therefore,, directed his difciples to aik in his 
name, and promifed that he would pray the Father for 
them •, he alfo fubjoined in another place, *< I fay not, 
is that I will pray the Father for you ; for the Father 
" himfelf loveth you •, becaufe ye have loved me, and 
" have believed that I came out fr\nn God*." His gen- 
eral plea, in behalf of " all who come to God " through 
" him," fuffices ; nor is it neceffary or the well-belov- 
ed Son of the Father to be particular, or to ufe impor- 
tunity with him, to induce him to grant all covenanted 
bleffings to his beloved children. 

The interceffion of Ghrift is, in its very nature, en- 
tirely different from the fupplications, which we make 
for one another. When we pray, according to our du- 
ty, for our brethren and fellow finners ; our requefts are 
admiffible and acceptable only through his mediation; 
We do not come in our own name, we reft not our in- 
terceffion on our own fervices, we make no claim to the 
mercy we afk, nor have any complete affurance that we 
(liaii^revail. If indeed our requefts be duly presented, 
they will be accepted : and if they be not granted in the 
fenf .-.* we meant them, they will return into our own 
bofom. But the interceffion of Chrift* for his difciples, 
is made in his own name, on the ground of his own 
merits and dignity, according to the covenant ratified 
with and by him, and with the abfolute certainty of fuo 
cefs. — Thisfhews the fin and idolatry of worfhipping, 
or coming to God through, other mediators ; for either 
thefe were finners, that were brought to heaven through 
the merits and interceffion of Chrift ; though they are 
thus addrefTed as his competitors : or they are created 
Angels, not at all related to us, and Utterly deftitute of 
every plea which they may urge in our behalf ; having 
never been appointed to the mediatorial office, and never 
having thought of intruding into it. So that to wor- 
ship Saints, and Angels, even as intercefTors, is an af- 



* John, xiv. 13....17, xvi. 26, 27. 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us. 151 

cription, to fervants and creatures, of that honour, 
which belongs to the only -begotten Son alone •, and 
they, who thus difhonour " the Son, do not honour 
" the Father that fent him." 

The interceffion of Chrift is prefented in behalf of 
<c all, who come to God through him," or «' who pray 
u in his name ;" and all men are invited to return in 
this way to the Lord j allured that Chrift will not refufe 
to maintain the caufe of any one, whatever he hath been 
or is, who up ightly feeks the benefit of his mediation : 
there is however a fenfe, in which it is not general, but 
particular. If he intercede for thofe, who are now liv- 
ing without faith and prayer, or in the practice of fin - t 
it will fhortly appear by their repentance and converfion : 
for he never pleaded in behalf of thofe, who continue to 
the laft unbelieving and ungodly*. The event (hews 
that his interceffion therefore, is intended to give us 
" this confidence, that, if we afk any thing, according 
" to the will of God, he heareth usf :" but it can form 
no juft ground of encouragement to thofe who do not 
pray at all ; who come before God, not in the name of 
Jefus v but with other pleas ; who afk fuch things as 
God hath not promifed j or, whofe prayers are mere 
lip-labour and hypocrify. 

We are then inflru&ed to approach the Father, 
through the mediation of the Son, for the forgivenefs of 
Our fins, the acceptance of our perfons and fervices, and 
all things immediately connefted with eternal falvation : 
and for all temporal benefits, as far as infinite wifdom 
fees them conducive to our real good. But efpecially 
we are encouraged in his name to pray for the Holy 
Spirit, to illuminate, renew, purify, comfort, and 
ftrengthen our fouls ; to furnifh us with that meafure of 
fpiritual gifts which our fituations require •, and to fup~ 
port us under the trials to which we may be expofed. 
We alfo expc£r., that through this heavenly Advocate, 
our prayers for our friends, our enemies, our brethren, 
or the church at large, will be accepted and anfwered in 
the mofl defirable manner ; notwithftanding our un- 

* John xvii. 9....20. t 1 John, v. 14, 15. 



-151 On our Lord y s Exaltation and Essay X. 

Worthinrfs, and the imperfection of our duties ; that 
our praifes and thankgivings will afcend as a facrifice 
well pleafing to God ; and that our feeble endeavours 
to ferve and honour him, though in ftrift juftice they 
merit condemnation, will receive a large and gracious 
reward. 

But our exalted Redeemer not only appears " in the 
" prefence of God for us," as a merciful High-Prieft, 
but alfo as glorious King ; for he is a " Prieft, after the 
« order of Melchizedeck," a King of Peace and of 
Righteoufnefs. As a King he confers blellings and af- 
fords protection, he enacts laws, demands obedience, 
obtains victories, and exercifes authority ; and he will 
at length adminifter juftice to the rational creation. " All 
" power," fays he, " is given unto me, in heaven, and 
"inearth*." " The Angels, that ex el in ftrength," 
" are " his mighty Angels." " He is gone into hea- 
« ven, and is at the right hand of God, Angels, autho- 
" rities, and power being made fubject. to himf :'* 
« The r ather hath " fet him at his own right hand in 
" heavenly places, far above all principality, and power 
« and might, and dominion, and every name that is 
« named, not only in this world, but in that which is 
(i to come : and hath put all things under his feet ; and 
( * gave him to be Head over all things to the church ; 
" which is his body, the fulnefs of him that filleth all 
*< in allt" " He hath alfo committed all judgment unto 
c< him, that all men might honour him, even as they 
" honour the Father^." The expreffions given and com- 
mitted, with others of fimilar import, evidently relate 
to him, as Man and Mediator, and in no refpett dedu£t 
from the energv of this language of the Holy Spirit : for 
who muii He be originally who can receive in his delegated 
character fuch authority, and exercife fuch powers ? 
What creature could fuitain the weight of that domi- 
nion, which refts on the fhoulders of him, who was a 
<( child born, and a Son given unto us|| ?" No doubt 
He, of whom fuch things are fpoken, is the mighty 



•/Matt, xxviii 18. f 1 Pet. ni 22. 
| Eph. i. 20....23 Phil. ii. 9....1! 

§ J Jin, v. 21....27. Rom. xiv. h. ..*.12, 2 Thess. i. 7....1Q. 
$ Isaiah, ix. 6, 7. 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us. 153 

God, the Lord from heaven, God manifeft in the flefli! 
That only, truly Man, fhould exercife abfolute author- 
ity over all Angels, who ferve him in miniftering to his 
redeemed people ; that he fhould have the keys of death 
and the unfeen world* ; and that the univerfal kingdom 
of nature and providence fhould be adminiftered by Him, 
is a moil furprifing myftery : but that all this fhould fub- 
ferve the good of fuch worthlefs creatures as we are, is 
mod (lupendous and inconceivable love ! And they muft 
have very high thoughts of human nature, or very low 
apprehenfions of the infinite God, who can fuppofe a 
mere man to be capable of fuch pre-eminent dignity and 
authority. 

It is a firm ground of admiring and thankful exulta- 
tion, that He, who is our Brother and Friend, thus 
rules all words with abfolute fway, is King of kings, 
and Lord of lords : the rife, fall, and revolutions of 
empires are ordered by him •, he hath all hearts in his 
hand, and turneth them as he pleafeth. The Father 
" hath fet his King upon his holy hill of Zion," in de- 
fiance and contempt of the oppofition of all thofe that 
fay, " let us break his bonds afunder, and caft away 
" his cords from us ;" and « with his iron rod he will 
" dafh them to pieces like a potter's velfel. Be wife 
" now, therefore, O ye kings ; be inftru&ed, ye judges 
" of the earth: kifs the Son, left he be angry, and ye 
" perifh from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a 
" littlef." — The duration, profperity, and termination 
of every man's life are appointed by him •, and the doom 
of every foul. Storms and tempefts, peflilences and 
earthquakes, are his fervants ; all nature obeys his word, 
of judgment or of mercy. Tyrants and perfecutors ac- 
complifh his fecret purpofes, u howbeit they mean not 
" fo :" nor can deceivers, by their unwearied efforts, ex- 
ceed the limits he alfigns them. Even apoftate fpirits 
know his power, and reluctantly obey his mandate : 
when he was " in the form of a fervant," a legion of 
them could not fo much as pofTefs a herd of fwine with- 
out his permiffion j nor can any of them defeat his 



* Rev. i. 18. + Ps. ii. 

O 



154 On our Lord's Exaltation and Essay X. 

counfels, efcape his detection, or avert his omnipotent 

vengeance. — " His riches are unfearchable ;" "in him 

" are hid all the treafures of wifdom and knowledge ;" 

" all the fulnefs of the God-head dwells in him bodily j" 

yea, the fulnefs of the Spirit of wifdom, truth, power, 

and holinefs ; and "from his fulnefs do all his people 

" receive*." He governs all events in that manner, 

which may bed promote the fafety and happinefs of his 

church, and of true believers. Therefore " all things 

<< work together for good to them that love God." 

" None can pluck any of them out of his handsf ;" 

1 " No weapon formed againft them fhall profper." 

" Nothing fhall feparate them from the love of God." 

" Jehovah is their Shepherd \ they fhall not want" 

Tribulations, temptations, perfecutors, conflicts, yea, 

death itfelf, are inftruments in the hands of Chrift., to 

prepare them for " an exceeding and eternal weight of 

" glory," and " in all things they will be made more 

" than conquerors," until they be enriched with ever- 

lading felicity. 

But this power is equally formidable to obftinate un- 
believers : all, who will not have Chrift to reign over 
them, will be deftroyed as his enemies : no refuge can 
be found from his intolerable indignation, no refiflance 
made to his omnipotent Word. This kingdom fhall en- 
dure through all ages, to the end of time : then his 
power will raife the dead : He will judge "the world 
" in righteoufnefs," and decide the eternal ftate of all 
mankind : and thus the defign of his delegated authori- 
ty being completely anfwered, he will, as Mediator, 
deliver up " the kingdom to God, even' the Father ;" 
the abfolute dominion of the Creator will be re-eftablifh- 
ed, and " God will be all in all." 

It fcarcely need be obferved, that the authority, pro- 
tection, and munificence of our glorious King demand 
of us implicit and unreferved obedience. The faith, 
that welcomes his falvation, " worketh by love," and 
enfures a chearful attention to his commands : all the 
precepts of Scripture are either the mandates of Chrift 



* I nil, xj. 2....5. John, i. 16. iii. 34. Col. ii. S....9. 
t John, x. ^7....oG. 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us , 153 
our King to thofe that fhare the bleffings of his peaceful 
rule ; or they conflitute that law which is the miniftra- 
tion of death and condemnation. Though his com- 
mands coincide with the moral law ; yet they are mo r 
dified differently, as addreffed to finners who feek fal- 
vation by him. The commands to repent, to believe, 
to pray, to obferve his ordinances, and to love the 
brethren, are indeed contained in the .comprehenfive re- 
quirement of fupreme love to God, and equal love to 
our neighbour : yet they are only given to finners 
through Chriil and the gofpel •, and they alone are his 
ttr.3 iubje&s, who fubmit to his authority, and from 
evangelical principles uprightly endeavour to obey his 
commandments*. 

We muit likewife confider the afcended Redeemer, 
as the great Prophet of his Church. lie indeed per- 
finally performed the prophetical office on earth, during 
his humiliation : but,- as all the antient Prophets were 
his fervants and reprefentatives ; fo the Apoftles, 
Evangelifts, and penmen of the New Teftament were 
his delegates ; aiid fo are all thofe who preach according 
to the holy Scriptures. Chrift is the great Teacher of 
mankind : the whole revelation of God is imparted to 
him : he is the Word and Wifdom of the Father, and 
the Light of the world ; all who follow him have the 
light of life, all others abide in darknefs ! Divine truth 
is repofited in him, as in a ltore-houfe, for our benefit ; 
thence it is communicated to us through the Scriptures. 
The Holy Spirit was fent forth from him, to infpire Pro- 
phets, Apoftles- and Evangelifts ; and he ftiil furnifhes 
paftors and teachers for their work ; (for thefe are the 
gifts of the afcended Redeemer to rebellious manf.) 
Moreover, the fame Spirit prepares men's minds to re- 
ceive the truth in faith and love and to underftand it's 
nature, glory, and tendency : thus he gives efficacy to 
the word, and applies his falvation to our fouls|. So 
that the Lord Jefus, as afcended on high, is the fole 
Prophet of the Church, and teaches his people, by h 
word, by faithful minifters, and by his Holy Spirit 

* Matt. vii. 21....28. John, xiv. 21....23. xv. 14. 
t Eph. iv. 8. M .1& . John, xvi. 14, 15. 



;:• 



156 On our Lord's Exaltation and Essay X. 

They, therefore, who feek from him the knowledge of 
God, and of his truth and will, with a humble, teacha- 
ble, believing, and obedient difpofition, in the ufe of 
his appointed means^ will be made wife to falvation ; 
preferved, in proportion to the fimplicity of their de- 
pendence, from errors and delufions; guided in th^ 
midft of the paths of judgment ; and inftru£ted how to 
a£t, as circumftances may require, with difcretion and 
propriety. But the felf-wife of every defcription, and 
all who refufe to receive infrru£tion from Ghrift, will be 
entangled in error, and given over to ftrong delufion, 
whatever their talents, opportunities, attainments, r*- 
putation, or affiduity may be*. And even believers 
will be left to fall into diftreffing miftakes, if at any 
time they lean to their own underftanding, neglect to 
feek wifdom from this great Counfellor, or prefer the 
opinion of fome favourite teacher to the word of him 
who is the Truth itfelf. 

Thefe diftin£t. offices of our glorified Lord cannot be 
feparated, either in refpect: of his performance of them, 
or of our dependence on him. The felf-righteous and 
the felf-wife may feem willing to own him as their 
King 4 whilft the one rejects him as a Prophet, and both 
of them refufe to come to God through him as their 
High-Prieft: on the other hand the antinomian may 
feem to rely on him as a Prieji, whilft he determines 
that " he will not have him to reign over him." Thefe 
and fimilar dependences are mere delufions : for 
Chrift rules as a Prieft on his throne ; he intercedes 
with regal authority ; and he teaches his difciples to rely 
on his- atonement and advocacy, to fhelter their fouls 
under his omnipotent protection, and to fubmit to his 
fovereign rule. He reveals as a Prophet, what he pur- 
chafed and obtains as a High-Prieft, and confers as a 
munificent Prince. The obedience which he requires 
of his fubje&s, he by his grace difpofes and enables-, 
them to perform, and renders it accepted through his 
intercefiion. So that they, who truly receive him in one 
of thefe combined offices, receive him in them all. 



* Matt. xiii. 11....15. 



Essay X. Appearance before God for us. 157 

In this manner our Lord prepares the fouls of his 
people for the inheritance which he hath prepared for 
them ; nor could the utmoft efficacy of one of thefe 
diftincl: parts of his mediatorial undertaking accomplifb. 
that gracious purpofe. His facrifice and interceifion, 
indeed, render it confident with the glory of God, to 
admit us finners into his prefence, to receive us to his 
favour, to make us his children, and to give us an in- 
heritance in his own holy habitation : but how mould 
we profit by this provifion, did he not fend forth his 
word and his minifters to proclaim the glad tidings, to 
give the invitations, and to fet before us his precious 
promifes and new covenant engagements ? How can 
we receive the advantage even of this revelation, with- 
out we underftand and believe it ? or how mail we 
credit fuch a humbling, fpiritual mefTage, except the 
eyes of our minds be opened by the Holy Spirit ? How 
could we unholy creatures be made meet for this holy 
inheritance, without the influences of his new-creating 
Spirit ? How could we overcome the powers of dark- 
nefs, and all our enemies, if he did not fight for us ? 
How could we meet the king of terrors, if he did not 
engage to fupport and deliver us ; and finally to raife 
our bodies, incorruptible, immortal, and glorious, to 
unite with our fouls in the everlafting enjoyment of the 
love of our reconciled God and Father ? 

We indeed may confider Chrift as our Shepherd and 
Phyfician, or in many other characters illuilrative of 
our dependence on him and obligations to him : yet 
they may all with propriety be referred to the offices of 
Prophet, Prieft, and King, according to the old and 
fcriptural diftin£Hon. Thefe are com prifed in his title, 
Christ, the Messiah the Anointed of God ; as Pro- 
phets, Priefts, and Kings were anointed under the 
typical difpenfations of the old Teftament*. s 

Is this then our creed, our experience, and depend- 
ence ? Do we thus receive and rely on Chrift our 



* Lev. viii. 12. 1 Sam. x. 1. xvi. 13. 1 Kings, lix, 16. 
G2 



158 On our Lord's Exaltation. &V. Essay X 

Prophet, Prieft, and King ? and do we, in the patient 
obedience of faith and love, " wait for the mercy of 
" our Lord Jefus Chrift unto eternal life*?" Our anfwer 
to thefe enquiries, as in the prefence of our heart- 
fearching Judge, is of the laft importance ; for this 
and this only is genuine Chriilianity. 



ESSAY XL 

On Justification. 



x\LL things having been made ready for the 
falvation of Tinners, in the Person and mediation of the 
great Redeemer \ it was alfo necefiary, that the me- 
thod, or medium^ of appropriating this ineftimable bene- 
fit, mould be clearly and exprefsly revealed : and this 
leads us to the consideration of the fcriptural doctrine 
of Juftification. I fhall therefore, in the prefent Ef- 
fay, briefly explain the meaning of the words jtfiify 
and juftification , as they are ufed by the facred writers*, 
— mow that we muft be juftified before God by faith 
alone ; — confider the peculiar nature of faith> and the 
ananner in which it juftifies ; — aflign a few reafons, 
why juftification and falvation are afcribed to this, 
rather than any other holy difpofitions or actions of 
the foul ; — and anfwer fome of the more plaufible ob- 
jections to the doctrine. 

The terms jufiify and juftification are taken from the 
common concerns of life ; and they are applied,, 
with fome neceflary variation of meaning, to the deal- 
ings of God with his rational creatures ; and efpecially 

* Jude, 20,® 



Essay XI. On Justification. 159 

to his admiffion of finful men into a {fate of accep- 
tance, and to the privilege of being thus accepted. 
They denote therefore, i that fuch perfons are now dealt 
with, as if they were righteous-: they are wholly ex- 
empted from thofe fufferings which are ftrictly fpeaking 
penal, and entitled to the reward of perfect obedience ; 
though in themfelves they have merited no fuch reward, 
but, on the contrary, have deferved the punifhment 
denounced in the law againft tranfgreflbrs. — Thefe are 
commonly faid to be forenftc terms \ that is, they refer 
to the practice of courts of juftice among men ; and 
indeed they feem to have been originally taken from 
fuch tranfa&ions : yet this derivation gives us a very 
inadequate idea of their import. For when a man is 
charged with a crime before an earthly tribunal, he 
muft either be condemned or acquitted : if he be con- 
demned, he may be pardoned^ but he cannot be juflified ; 
if he be acquitted he may be jitftifiedy but he cannot 
ftand in need of pardon. Moreover a criminal may be 
acquitted for want of legal evidence, or from other 
eaufes, when there can be no reafonable doubt of hia 
guilt : yet no accufation for the fame crime can be 
brought againft him, though he is very far from being 
fully jujiified or admitted to the full enjoyment of thofe 
privileges that belong to an unfufpe£ted member of 
civil fociety j nor would he be a proper perfon to be 
confided in, or advanced to a place of honour and re- 
fponfibility. Whereas, if an accufed perfon be fully 
jiiflified from the charge brought againft him •; he fuffers 
no degradation in his character, or difad vantage in his 
circumftances : his integrity is often placed in a more 
confpicuous light than before : he is considered as an 
injured man, and is frequently recommended by thefe 
circumftances to the favour and confidence of the 
prince, or of the people. Jujlification therefore, in 
the original meaning of the word, is not only diftincl: 
from pardon, but is abfolutely incompatible with it : it 
implies far more than the acquital of an accufed per- 
fon : it is a declaration, that no charge ought to have 
been made againft the man ; that he is juftly entitled to 
all the privileges of a good citizen ; and that he is, anil 
ought to be, admiflibk to every poft of honour and 



160 On Justification. Essay XL 

emolument, even as if he had never been accufed. The 
meaning of the word, in other concerns of life, is the 
fame : if a man's diara&er has been afperfed ; he is 
faid to be completely juftified, when the charge is en- 
tirely refuted, and proved malicious or groundlefs to 
the fatisfacTrion of all that enquire into it. 

On the other hand, our juftification before God always 
connects with pardon, and implies that we are guilty : 
and we are juftified as ungodly, " righteoufnefs being 
" imputed to us without works*." If we had never 
finned we might have been ji ft ified before God by our 
own obedience, according to the common ufe of the 
word juftification : no charge could have been brought 
or proved againfl us, nor fhould we have needed any 
forgivenefs. But by breaking the holy law of God, 
we have forfeited our title to the reward of righteouf- 
nefs according to the law, and have incurred the penal- 
ty of eternal mifery. The juftification therefore of a 
Jinner muft imply fomething diftindt from a total and 
final remiffion of the deferved punifhment ; namely a 
renewed title to the reward of righteoufnefs, as com- 
plete and efFe&ive, as he would have had if he had 
never finned, but had perfectly performed, during the 
term of- his probation, all the demands of the divine 
law. The remiffion of fins would indeed place him in 
fuch a ftate, that no charge would lie againfl: him : but 
then he would have no title to the reward of righteouf- 
nefs, till he had obtained it by performing, for the 
appointed time, the whole obedience required of him ; 
for he would merely be put again into a ftate of proba- 
tion, and his juftification or condemnation would not 
be decided till that were terminated. But the juftifica- 
tion of the pardoned finner gives him a prefent title to 
the reward of righteoufnefs, independent of his future 
conduct, as well as without refpecl: to his paft actions. 
This is manifeftly the fcriptural idea of juftification : 
it is uniformly reprefented as immediate and complete, 
when the finner believes in the Lord Jefus Chrift ; and 
jiot as a contingent advantage, to be waited for till 



* P4)ir* iv. 1....8 



Essay XL On Justification. 161 

death or judgment : and the arguments, that fome 
learned men have adduced, to prove that jujlification 
means nothing elfe than forgivenefs of fins y only fhew 
that the two diftincl: blefhngs are never feparately con- 
ferred. David for inftance fays " Bleffed is the man, 
" to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity**," and 
Paul obferves that " David defcribeth the bleiTednefs of 
" the man, unto whom God imputeth righteoufnefs 
" without works.f ' This does not prove, that " not 
" imputing fifty" and u imputing righteoufnefs ," are fy- 
nonymous terms : but merely, that where God does not 
impute fin he does impute righteoufnefs ; and confers the 
title to eternal life, on all thofe whom he refcues from 
eternal deathl. Indeed exemption from eternal pun- 
ifhment, and a right to an actual and vaft reward, are 
fuch diftincl: things, that one cannot but wonder they 
fhould be fo generally confounded, as they are in theo- 
logical difcuffions. — It may, therefore, fuffice to ob- 
ferve, that jufification (ignines in Scripture, that God 
hath given a (inner a right and title to eternal life, ac- 
counting him righteous by an acl of fovereign grace ; fo 
that " there is no condemnation for him •," but being 
thus juftified, " he is made an heir, according to the 
" hope of eternal life§." 

Every attentive reader of the Scriptures, efpecially of 
thofe epiftles, which contain the laft and fulleft revela- 
tion of the truth and will of God to mankind, muft ob- 
ferve in them an uniform declaration made, and ftrenu- 
oufly infifted on as of the greateft importance, that u a 
** man is juftified by faith without the deeds of the law." 
Many learned men have endeavoured to explain all fuch 
teftimonies of the Mofaic law as diftinguifned from the 
Chrittian difpenfation ; and to confine their meaning 
principally to the abrogated ceremonies. But " is the 
" knowledge of fin,'* by the ceremonial, or by the moral) 
-law ? Was the ceremonial law " the miniirration of death, 
'• written and engraven in ftones|| ?" Did the apoftle 
know this law to be fpiritualy "holy, juft, and good ?" 



* Ps. xxxii. 2. f Rom, iv. 6. 

\ Acts. xiii. 33, 39. § Tic iii. l.,.»r. 

|j 2 Cor, iii. 7. 



162 . On Justification. Essay XL 

Did "he delight in it after the inner man ?" Did the 
M -faic rites, or the tenth commandment, convince him 
that concupifcence was a fin, and flay his hope of juftifi- 
cation by the law* f Did Chriit redeem us from the 
curfe of the ceremonial law alone, by being made a curfe 
for usf ? — Such queftions might ealily be multiplied ; and 
each of them formed into a regular argument, demon- 
itrating the falfehood and abfurdity of this opinion : but 
the compafs of this Effay does not admit of it, nor is it 
neceflary in fo plain a cafe. No law in the univerfe can 
both ju/lify and condemn the fame perfon : ifthennoman 
hath always loved God with all his heart, and his neigh- 
bour as himfelf, no man can be juftified according to the 
works of the moral law; for this rnoft obvious and con- 
clusive reafon, becaufe all are expofed to condemnation for 
breaking it. If no human action be more excellent than 
the law requires eur whole conduct to be ; then none o£ 
our works of righteoufnefs can do any thing to reverfe the 
condemnation that our fins have incurred : and if the 
beft of our good works come fhort of perfection, and 
our beft days are chequered with many fins ; then we 
muft continue to accumulate guilt and condemnation, as 
long as we remain under the law, and are judged accord- 
ing to it. So that by no works of any law whatfoever, 
can a tranfgreflbr of that law be juflified in the fight of 
God. 

Thefe confiderations may prepare our minds for at- 
tending more carefully to the language of the Apoftle, in 
difcourfing on this fubjecl:. He conffantly infifts upon it, 
that a man is juftified by, or through^ faith alone, and not 
by the deeds of the law. He even fays without hefita- 
tion, " To him that worketh not but believeth in him 
" that jujlijieth the ungodly* his faith is counted to him 
" for righteoufnefsj." And he carefully difringuifhes 
this way of juftification from that by works : nay, oppofes 
the one to the other as incompatible- — " Becaufe the law 
" worketh ; — therefore it is by faith, what it might be by 
*« grace." " And if by grace, then it is no more of 



* Rom. vii. f GaJ. iii. 13, 
| Rom. iv. 15. 



Essay SI. On Justification. 163 

u works; otherwife grace is no more grace*." — For this 
reafon all they whom God juftifieth are considered as 
ungodly. True faith is indeed the effect of regeneration, 
an important part of true godlinefs^ and infeparable from 
all other holy exercifes of the ioui towards God : yet the 
believer, confidereu as he is in himfelf^ according to the holy 
law, is liable to condemnation as ungodly ; c-nd is justified 
folely and entirely as viewed in Chrijl according to the 
go/pel. 

Even James, who in another fenfe fhews that " a man 
" is justified by works and not by faith only;" illustrates 
his doctrine by the example of Abraham, who was il juf- 
(t tified by works, when he had offered Ifaac his fon upon 
" the altar :'• and he then adds, " Seeft thou, how faith 
*' wrought with his works, and by works was faith made 
" perfect; and the Scripture was fulfilled which faith, 
" Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him, 
"for righteoufnefsf" now thefe words were fpoken many 
years before Abraham was called to facrifice Ifaac, yea, 
before Ifaac was bornj. James therefore evidently meant 
that the true believer proves his profession to be sincere, 
and his faith living, by the fruits of holy obedience ; and 
is thus juttified before men on earth, and will be juftiried 
before the world at the laft day, from that charge of 
hypocrify, which will be fubftantiated against all thofe 
who " fay they have faith, and have not works." Un~ 
lefs we admit this interpretation, we fhall find as much 
difficulty in reconciling/ James tobimfelf, as fome have 
done in reconciling Paul to him : for he adduces the fame 
example, and quotes the fame Scripture, in illustration of 
his point, that Paul did : and he fuppofed, that he had 
confirmed the true doctrine of justification by faith, in 
thus diftinguifhing living from dead faith ; and in fhew- 
ing that no faith could juftify a man before God) which 
did not prove itfelf genuine, and juftify the posTerlor 
before his neighbours, by influencing him to the practice of 
good works according to the opportunity afforded him 

But the general doctrine, that "a man is jultified in 
" the fight of God by faith alone," is too plain to need 

* Rom. ivi 14....1 6, xi. 6, t Jam. ii. 20....26. \ Gen. xv. 6. 



164 On justification. Essay XI. 

much proof. They, who regard the epiftles of Paul, 
mull know, that he not only afferts, but confirms, this 
doctrine by various arguments, illustrations, and examples. 
He declares that no man is juitified in any other way*; 
that " they, who feek righteoufnefs, as k were, by the 
. " works of the law," {tumble and fallf, and have no bene- 
fit from Chrift and the gofpel^: ; and that " if any man, 
i{ or Angel, mould preach any other gofpel he would be 
" accurfed||.^ Indeed thofe Scriptures, which do not 
immediately relate to justification, continually fpeak of 
faith as the grand diftinguifhing difference, between them 
that are faved and them that peri(h. In this way the 
Apoftle evidently teaches us, that all the accepted fer- 
vants of God under the Old Teftament were j unified by 
faith§. And the fame is certainly implied, when he fays, 
" They that be of faith are bleffed with faithful Abraham ; 
" for as many as are of the works of the law are under 
" the curfe**." 

The texts, in which propofitions to this effect are con- 
tained, are more numerous than can eafily be conceived 
by perfons who have not particularly examined the fub- 
ject ; which may eafily be feen by looking over the ar- 
ticles of faith, believe, and believing, in a good concordance. 
By faith we pafs from death unto life ; by faith are faved, 
we walk, we ffand, we work, we fight and conquer; we 
come unto God, we receive the Spirit, and we are fancti- 
fied by faith : and every thirtg pertaining to our peace, 
liability, fruitfulnefs, comfort, and eternal felicity, are 
evidently fufpended on our faith, and infeparably con- 
nected with it ; in a peculiar manner, and wholly differ- 
ent from the relation which they bear to any other holy 
difpofition we poffefs, or ail of obedience we perform. 
So that it is really furprifing, that any, except avowed 
infidels or fcepticks, mould deny the doctrine of justifica- 
tion by faith alone, whatever method they might adopt 
of explaining the meaning of the words faith and jujli- 
fication. 



* GaL ii. 11, 12. f Rom ix. 30....33. x. 3....11 
} Gal. v. 2....6. || Gal. i. 8....10. 

xu ** Gal. iii. 8....14. 



Essay XL On Justification. 165 

I (hall therefore next proceed to confider the diftinguifh- 
ing nature and effeBs of faith, and the manner in which it 
jiflifes. — Some oppoiers of this fundamental doctrine at- 
tempt to explain it away, by reprefenting faith as a com- 
pendious term, denoting the whole of that profeffion and 
obedience, which Chrift: requires of his difciples : fo that 
tliev fuppofe, we are juftified by embracing and obeying 
the gofpel, as a mitigated law of worlds ; and that Chrift: 
purchased for us the acceptance of ftncere, inftead of per- 
feci, obedience. Their definition of faith comprifes in 
it repentance, love, and obedience -, and on this plan it 
would at leaft be equally proper to fay, that we are jufti- 
fied by our love and its fruits, as by our faith, if any dis- 
tinction were admitted. How different is this to the 
language of the facred oracles ! Surely in this cafe we 
fhould be juftified by "works of righteoufnefs that we 
Si had done," though not by the works of the law! It has 
not, however, yet been (hewn in what part of the New 
Teftament this mitigated law may be found : for certainly 
nothing like it is contained in our Lord's fermon on the 
mount, or in the preceptive part of the apoftolical epiftles! 
Neither are we told precifely what it requires, or what exact 
me afar e of obedience will juftify a man according to it. It is 
not eafr on this plan to underftancf in what fenfe Chrift: 
" magnified the law and made it honourable :" how « the 
<( law is eftablifhed by faith :" for which of our fins the 
death of Chrift atoned ; (feeing the moral law is re- 
pealed, and a milder law given, by obedience to which we 
are juftified :) or how boafting can thus be excluded. In 
fact, this abfurd fentiment totally makes void the holy, 
juft, and good law of God ; and alters the ftandard of 
our duty, from the exact requirements of the fcripturai 
precept, to a vague indeterminate idea called fmcere obe- 
dience, which may be modelled and varied according to the 
reafonings and inclinations of mankind : and thus it vir- 
tually fets afide both the law and the gofpel. But as faith, 
in refpetl of juf if cation, is not only oppofed to the works 
of the law, but diflinguifhed from repentance, hope, and 
charity, as exercifed by believers; and as none of thefe, nor 
any kind or degree of obedience is ever faid to juftify a 
man in the fight of God : fo we are warranted to decide 
without hefitationj that the Apoftles never meant by faith 

P 



166 On Justification. Essay, XI, 

fuch a compound of all the diftinct parts of Chriftianity ; 
and fhat this fuppofition would imply, that they ufed the 
moft unfuitable and obfcure exprtffions which could poffi- 
•hlv have been devifed. True faith no doubt infeparably 
connects with, or produces, all the other effential parts 
of Chriftianity : and in like manner, in a complete hu- 
man body there are ears, hands, and feet, as well as eyes ; 
yet the eyes along can perform the function of feeing. 
Thus the tree produces the fruit, yet is diltindt from it; 
and the, ffem or branches of the tree may anfwer pur- 
pofes, for which the fruit though valuable is totally unfit. 
It is, therefore, a very different thing to fay, that living 
faith is conneEled with repentance, works by love, and pro- 
duces abedience ; than to contend, that it includes them, 
and that we are juftified by repentance, love, and obe- 
dience, as parts of our faith. 

Others again fuppofe, that faith is nothing more, 
than an ajfent to the truth of Chriftianity : and that a Jew 
or Gentile, on embracing and profefling the gofpel, 
was freed from the guilt of his former fins \ that being 
thus brought into a juftified ftate., he would continue in 
it, or fall from it, according to his fubfequent beha- 
viour j and that his juftification at the laft day mull be by 
his own works, if he efcape final condemnation. But 
here again we enquire, how this fyftem can confift with 
the very meaning of the word jufttfy* or account righteous % 
when the tinner is merely put upon a new probation to 
work out a righteoufnefs for himfelf ? How it confifts 
with believers " not coming into condemnation," and 
" having eternal life ?" How it excludes boaiting ? And 
where it is found in the facred oracles ? In fa£t, the dead 
faith, exploded by James, is thus brought Jforward for 
the fmner's jirji jujlification ; whilft the dead works of a 
mere formalin: are generally meant by the obedience 
which is at laft to juftify fuch a believer : fo that the 
fentiment verges on the one hand to an antinomian abufe 
of the gofpel, and on the other to a pharifaical oppofi- 
tion to it. 

.Let us then hear the words of theinfpired Apoflle on 

this fubjeel:. " Therefore by the deeds of the law, mall 

« no flefh be juftified in the fight of God *, for by the 

y « law is the knowledge of fin. — But now the righteouf- 



Essay XL On Justification, 167 

« nefs of God without the law is manifefted ; being 
«■« witnefTed by the law and the prophets : even the 
" righteoufnefs of God which is by faith of Jefus 
«f»Chrift unto ally and upon all them that believe ; for 
V there is no difference, for all have finned and come 
" fliort of the glory of God : Being juftified freely by 
" his grace through the redemption that is in Chrift 
" Jefus*'." What does he mean by rfce righteoufnefs of 
God without the law, which was witneffed by the law and 
the prophets ; and which is unto all \ and upon ally them 
that believe? He elfewhere fays that " Chrift is the end 
" of the law for righteoufnefs unto every one that believ- 
" ethf." His obedience unto death, as Emmanuel, 
God manifefted in the ftefh, in our nature, as our 
Surety, and in order to "bring in an everlafting righte- 
oufnefs," was infinitely valuable ♦, and honoured the law 
of God more than the perfect obedience of all-creatures 
ever could have done. It was predicted and prefigured 
in the law of Mofes : and the prophets exprefs.y tefti- 
fied it. " Surely (hall one fay, In Jehovah have I 
" righteoufnefs, and ftrength." " In Jehovah {hall 
" all the feed of Ifrael be jujlifiedy and fhall glory." 
" This is the name, whereby he fhall be called, 
Jehovah our Righteousness j." Can we then doubt 
the Apoftles's meaning in the before cited pail age ? This 
righteoufnefs of God is without the law, being entirely in- 
dependent of our perfonal obedience, either before or 
after juftification , it becomes ours * c by faith in Chrijl 
" J e f us »•'* And m t^ e next chapter weread of righteouf- 
" nefs imputed without works§." Is it not then plain 
that " the righteoufnefs of God is unto all that believe*" 
" by imputation ? Thus likewife it is " upon all that be- 
U lieve ;" — for they have put on Chrif\\" * God now 
1 looking on them, there appears nothing but Chrift ; 

* they are as it were covered all over with him, as a man 

* with the clothes he hath put on. Hence in the next 

* verfe it is faid, they " are all one in Chrift Jefus," 
' as if there were but one perfon # *.' 

* Rom. m. 19....24. f Rom. x. 4. \ Is. xlv. 24, 25...Jer. x*iii. 6. 

§ Rom.iv. 6. J! Gal. iii. 27. ** Locke. 



168 On Justification. Essay XL 

As our fins were imputed to Chrift, and he endured 
trie curfe we deferved : fo his righteoufnefs is imputed 
to us, if believers, and becomes our title to the heaven- 
ly inheritance. « He was made fin for us who knew 
no fin : that we might be made the righteoufnefs of 
God in him*." The grand defign of this ftupendous 
plan is declared to be, that " God might be juj}, and 
« the Juftijier of him that believeth in Jems ;" while 
CJ To him that worketh not, but believeth in him that 
" juftifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteouf- 
" nefsf." In this refpecl, there is no difference \ for all 
" have finned, and come fhort of the glory of God f 
Nor can any man in the world be juftified before him, 
except he receive the righteoufnefs of God by faith. 

But what then is faith ? To anfwer this queftion, I 
would obferve, that faith, or believing, in common lan- 
guage implies credit given to a report, teftimony, or pro- 
mife; or confidence placed in any perfon : and almoft all 
the affairs of life are conducted on this principle, that men 
in ordinary circumftances are entitled to a meafure o£ 
credit and confidence. But " if we receive the witnefs 
" of men, the witnefs of God is greater^;" " The tef- 
" timony of the Lord is fure, making wife the fimple§.'* 
Divine faith is, therefore, a difpojition readily to believe 
the teftimeny, and to rely on the promifes of God- The 
Apoftle Paul briefly calls it " the belief of the truth Jj," 
of every revealed truth, and efpecially of " the word 
" of the truth of the gofpel :" and he defines " faith" 
to be «< the fubftance of things hoped for, the evidence 
« ef things not feeri**." In general, faith gives implicit 
credit to the divine veracity, in refpecl: of all the in- 
vifibie things that God hath attefted ; fome of which 
are paft > as the creation, the fall of man, the deluge, 
the crucifixion and refurre&ion of Chrift ; others exv 
ift at prefent, as the all-pervading Providence and all- 
feeing eye of God, and the interceflion of Chrift in 
heaven \ and others are future, as the coming of Chrift 



* 2 Cor. v. 21. t R° m * 5ii- 25... .31. iv. 5. 

i l John, v. 9. § Ps. xix. 7. || 2 Tliess. ii, 12, 13, 

** Heb. xi. 1. 



Essay XL On Justification. 169 

to raife the dead and judge the world, and the ftate of 
eternal retributions. But faith credits them all, and 
fo receives the teftimony of God, both refpe&ing the 
evil and the good, that it realizes them to the mind, as 
if they were indeed perceivable by the bodily fenfes. 
But in its more particular exercife, it efpecially regards, 
embraces, realizes, and looks for, the future bleffings 
which God ha'th promifed ; and thus gives the foul, as 
it were, a prefent poffeffion of things hoped for. The 
examples, recorded in the chapter laft referred to, evince, 
that this faith always receives the divine teftimony, not 
only as true, but as inter ejling in the higheft degree : 
and thus, as a living principle, it influences a man to 
flee from, or provide againft, the threatened evil, and 
to purfue with earneftnefs and decifion the prornifed 
good. 

The record which God hath given us of his Son, 
and of eternal life in him, is the centre of revelation : 
faith therefore always pays a peculiar regard to it, and 
thus efpecially " fets to its leal that God is true*;" 
whilft unbelief makes him a liar. Other divine tefti- 
monies having iliewn a man that he is a loft firmer, 
deferving and expofed to the wrath of God ; thefe 
difcover to him his only refuge. The Holy Spirit, 
through the " belief of the truth," has " convinced him 
" of fin;" and now " He glorifies Chrift," and mews to 
the finner's enlightened mind the nature, fuitablenefs* 
and value of his falvation, as revealed in the word of 
the gofpel. The Father, as it Were, fays to him " This 
" is my beloved Son, — hear him •" and his heart anfwers 
'« Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." He cred- 
its the teftimony of God concerning the Perfon and 
mediation of Emmanuel ; he feels his need of the 
teaching of fuch a Prophet ; of the deliverance and 
protection of fuch a King, and the bleffings of his 
kingdom ; and, above all, of the faciifice, merits, and 
interceffion of this great High-Prieft. Faith, in the 
divine teftimony and promifes influences him to entruit 
his foul and all his eternal interefts,' into the hands of 



* Jchn, in. 14....21. 33....S6. 1 John, v. 10....1J 
P 2 



170 On Jmiijicaiion. Essay XL 

Chrift, relying on his power, truth, and love ; he 
comes to the Father through him, and in his name : 
he Shelters his foul from the wrath of God, and the 
curfe of the law, under the protection of his atoning 
blood : he confides in his power and grace to deliver 
him from all his outward and inward foes: he fits at 
the Redeemer's feet, to hear and obferve his directions : 
he lives by faith in him for every thing ; and this 
faith working by love, and learning daily lefTons from 
his word, and from the crofs, gives him the victory 
over the fear of man and the love of the world, in- 
creafes his humiliation and hatred of fin, and furnifh- 
es him with motives, encouragements, and affiftance 
for all holy obediences 

But, whatever faith may effect as the active princi- 
ple of a man's conduct : itjuflrfies him before God only 
as it receives Chrift Jefus, applies to him for falvation,. 
conftitutes the finner's relation to him, and interefts the 
foul in his righteoumefs and atonement, and in all the 
promifes of the new covenant. The operations and 
effects of this precious faith ferve to ' diftinguifh it from 
a worthlefs dead faith, but do nothing towards our- 
jiiflificatiofi : for we are juftified, as One with Chrift : 
on which account it is meet that we fhould mare hi^ 
purchafed bleffings ; whilft he, that hath not faith, 
ftands in no fuch relation to him, and is not at prefent 
entitled to fuch diftinguifhed advantages, whatever may 
be the fecret purpofesof God refpecting him. Yet all 
who have this faith do repent, do love the Lord and 
his people, and uprightly obey his commands ; by which 
they are diftinguifhed from mere prof effbrs. 

We mult not then fuppofe, that we are juftified by 
the merit of our faith, any more than by that of our 
good works : for though true faith is pleafmg to God, 
becaufe honourable to his name *, yet it cannot atone 
for fin, or purchafe heaven : nay, the imperfection of 
our faith would condemn us, if we were to be judged 
according to the merit of it. But " we are juftified by 
" faith alone ;" becaufe by it alone we receive, and be- 
come interefted in, that righteoufnefs in which we are 
accepted with God. This righteoufnefs of God, hav- 
ing been devifed, appointed, wrought out, and revealed. 



Essay XL On Justification. 171 

for this very purpofe, is fully fufficient to juftify all 
who are interested in it, how numerous foever they are, 
or how vile foever they have been. 

Hence it is that Paul ufes fuch decifive language on 
this fubje£t : " What things were gain to me, thofe I 
(c counted lofs for Chrilt : yea doubtlefs and I count all 
" things but lofs for the excellency of the knowlege 
« of Chriit Jefus my Lord, for whom I have (suffered 
« the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung 
." that I may win Chriit, and be found in him ,• not hav~ 
« ing mine own righteoufnefs, which is of the law, 
" but that which is of the faith of Chrift, the righ- 
" teoufnefs which is of God by faith*." 

It appears therefore, that free grace, (or the gratuit- 
ous favour, fovereign love, or everlafting mercy of 
God,) is the fource of our justification \ that the righ- 
teoufnefs and atonement of Emmanuel are the merito- 
rious caufe of it \ and that faith is the only recipient of 
the bleffing ; and we are « justified by his b/oodf" be- 
caufe by fhedding his blood he completed his obedience., 
as our Surety. Justification may therefore be afcribed 3 
either to the fource, to the meritorious caufe, or to the 
recipient of it ; even as a drowning perfon may be 
faid to be faved, either by the man on the bank of the 
river, or by the rope caft out to him, or by his hand 
apprehending the rope ; according to the different ways 
in which we fpeak on the fubjecl:. 

The manner, in which faith justifies, may be illus- 
trated, by considering in what fenfe a bank note pays a 
demand made on any perfon. The intrinfic value of 
the paper is not one farthing : but it refers the creditor . 
to a company who are engaged and competent to an- 
fwer the demand *, and therefore it is accounted to the 
debtor as fo much paid in fpecie. Thus faith refers 
God the Father to Chrift, who is able and willing to 
anfwer for every believer, and, therefore, " it is im- 
" puted to us for righteoufnefs.' , So that, if a man 
fliould die, immediately after the iirft exercife of true 
'faith, (as the thief on the crofs did,) and before he ha4 



Phil, iij, 3„..9. t Rom. v. 9. 



172 On Justification. Essay XL 

time to perform one further a£r. of obedience*, he would 
directly enter heaven as a" juftified perfon : though all, 
who are fpared, will certainly (hew their faith by their 
works. Nor can there be a doubt, but that the faith of 
Abraham, and that of ancient believers had a fimilar 
refpecl: to the promifes and teftimdfoy of God, concern- 
ing a Redeemer who was to come ; or that it juftified 
them in exactly the fame manner. 

The Scriptures inform us, that " the only wife God 
"*our Saviour" hath appointed this method of j unifica- 
tion, that the benefit might be of grace \ for -aith, of that 
nature which hath been defcribed, exprefsly renounces 
all claim in the way of merit. It allows " that by the 
(i works of the law, no flefh can be juftified in the 
fight of God ;" it comes to him, not to buy, earn, or 
demand a recompenfe, but to crave mercy, the gift of 
rightemifnefs, and the gift of eternal life through Jefus 
Chrift : and in that way, by which the defert of fin and 
the juftice of God were moft clearly difplayed to the 
univerfe. So that in this method « of juftifying the 
il ungodly" by faith alone, the whole glory is fecured 
to the 7.iord ; and his juftice, holinefs ; truth and wif- 
dom, as well as his abounding grace, are explicitly 
acknowledged and honoured. And as faith itfeU is 
the gift of God: whiift the weakeft faith juftifies as 
certainly as the ftrougeft ; (though it does not bring 
fuch evidence of it to the confcience j) fo boafting is 
excluded, every ground of felf-preference is removed, 
and a foundation is, as it were, laid in the believer's 
heart, for the conitant exercife of humility, dependence, 
patience, and meeknefs ; and of that love, which con- 
ftrains the redeemed firmer " to live no longer to him- 
" felf, but to him that died for him and rofe again." 

But it may be objected, that the Scriptures frequent- 
ly fpeak of repentance, convention, love, obedience, 
doing the will of God, and forgivenefs of enemies, as 
requifite in order to our acceptance and aclmiffion to the 
enjoyment of our heavenly inheritance : and how can 
this confift with the doctrine ofjuftifi cation by faith 
alone ? No ^doubt thefe tilings are neceffary ; nay, there 
is no falvation without them, according to the time and 
opportunity afforded : nor does any man come fhort 



Essay XL On Justification. 173 

of falvationin whom they are found. Thefe are things 
which accompany falvation*; they either prepare the 
heart for receiving Chrift by faith, or they are evidences 
that he is, thus received : yet Chrift himfelf is our whole 
falvation, and faith alone receives him and appropriates 
the blefling : not by believing without evidence that Chrift 
is ours ; but by applying to him, according to the word of- 
Gody that he may be ours. 

Should it be further objected, that the decifion of 
the day of judgment is always dated to be made " ac- 
" cording to men's works :" it may fuffice to anfwer in 
this place, that no faith juftifies, except that which 
works by love ; that love uniformly produces obe- 
dience ; and that the works thus wrought will cer- 
tainly be adduced, as evidences in court, to diftin- 
guifh between the true believer and all othe r perfons. 
—Finally, the objection, that this doctrine tends to 
licentioufnefs, feems to have been already fufficiently 
anfwered, by the explanation given of, the nature and 
effects of faving faith; and -I (hall only add a moil 
earneft exhortation to all, who hold this doctrine, to 
walk fo circumfpecxly, " that whereas men fpeak 
" evil of them, as evil doers ; they may be aihamed 
" that falfely accufe their good converfation in Chriftij: :" 

Thus having explained the doctrine of justification by 
faith alone, " through the righteoufnefs of God, even 
of our Saviour Jefus ChriiU -," and proved it to be that 
of the Holy Scriptures : I would conclude by reminding 
the reader of its vaft importance. — " How mail man be 
"juft with God ?" — All our eternal interefts depend 
on the anfwer, which, in our creed and experience, 
we return to this queftion : for if God hath, for the 
glory of his own name, law, and government, appoint- 
ed a method of juftifying fmners, and revealed it in the 
gofpel ; and they, in the pride of their hearts, refufe to 
leek the bleffings in this way, but will come for it ac- 
cording to their own devices : he may juftly, and will 
certainly, leave them under merited condemnation!!. 
May God incline every reader to give this fuhje£t a fe- 



* Heb. vi. 9. f 2 Pet. i. v. 1. | 1 Pet. ii. 12. iii. 1& 
5. 2 Pet. i. 1. II Rom. x. 1....4* 



274 On Justification. Essay XL 

nous confederation, with the day of judgment and eter- 
nity before his eyes ! Nor let it be forgotten, that all 
the reformers from popery, (who were eminent men, 
however fome may afFe£fc to defpife them j) deemed the 
prevailing fentiments concerning the way of a (inner' s 
juftification before God, to be the grand diflin£tion be- 
tween a ftanding and a falling church. 

Yet we fhould alfo obferve, that " the truth itfelf may 
* f be held in unrighteoufnefs :" and they who receive 
this doctrine into a proud and carnal heart, by a dead 
faith, not only awfully deceive themfelves, and quiet 
their consciences in an impenitent unjuftified ft/ate ; but 
bring a reproach upon the truth, and fatally prejudice 
the minds of men againft it, of which they will have a 
dreadful account to give at the Jail day. For did all, 
who profefs and argue for this "doctrine of God our 
Saviour," adorn it by fuch a conduct, as it is fuited to 
produce ; Pharifees, fcepticks, and infidels would be 
deprived of their beaft weapon, and muft fight againft 
the gofpel at a vaft difadvantage. May the Lord give 
us all that « faith which worketh by love," that "by 
" works our faith may be made' perfect •" as the grafted 
tree is in its moil perfect ftate, when every branch is 
loaded with valuable fruit.* 



ESSAY XII. 

On Regeneration* 



W HEN the Apoftle had reminded the Ephefians, 
that M they were faved by grace, through faith •" he 
added, " and that not of yourfelf j it is the gift of God. 



* Gal. v. 6. James, ii. 17....26. 



Essay XII. On Regeneration. 17£ 

« Not of works left any man mould boaft*." Hence 
we learn, that faith itfelf, the fole recipient of all the 
bleffings of falvation, is the effeft of a divine influence 
upon the foui ; that all real good works are the effecl: of 
a new creation ; and that it is the Lord's exprefs defign, 
by thefe means effectually to exclude boa/ting, " that no 
" flefh mould glory in his prefence." This, gracious 
operation of a divine power in changing the heart is re- 
presented in Scripture under feveral metaphors, of 
which Regeneration, (or being born again, born of God t 
and born of the Spirit,) is the molt frequent and remarka- 
ble ; and the prefent Effay will be appropriated to the 
difcuffion of this interefting fubje£t. 

Nicodemus, a Pharifee, a fcribe, and a member of 
the Jewiih fanhedrim, came to our Lord by night : for 
notwithftanding his conviction that Jefus was a Teacher 
fent from God, he was afraid or aihamed of being 
known to confult him, concerning the doctrine that he 
came to inculcate. The ftate of his mind accorded to 
the darknefs which prevailed at the feafon of this inter- 
view : and he leems to have expected fome inftru&ions 
coincident with the traditions of the Pharifees, and 
their ideas of religion, and of the Meffiah's kingdom, 
which they fuppofed to confift in external forms and ad- 
vantages. But our Lord, with a two-fold mod folemn 
afTeveration, peculiar to himfelf on the moil important 
occafions, abruptly affured him, that " except a man 
Ci were born again, he could not fee the kingdom of God ;" 
or difcem its real nature and excellency : and, when 
Nicodemus expreffed his aftonifhment at this afTertion, 
in language aptly illuftrating the Appftle's meaning, 
when he fays " The things of the Spirit of God are 
« foolifhnefs to the natural manf •," our Lord anfwered 
with the fame folemnity, that, « except a man were 
" born of water and of the Spirit, he could not enter 
" into the kingdom of God." Water had been ufed in 
divers ways, as an external emblem of internal purifica^ 
tion ; and the ufe of it was intended to be continued, 
in the ordinance of baptifm, under the new difpenfation : 
it was therefore proper to mention it as the outward 

* Eph. ii. 8... 10, t 1 Cor. ii. 14. 



176 On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

fign of that change, which could only be effected by 
the power of the Holy Spirit. — Our Lord next {hewed 
the indifpenfable neceffity of this new birth. " That 
" which is born of the flefh," or derived by natural gen- 
eration from fallen Adam, " is flefh," or carnal in its 
propenfities and inclinations : " and that which is born 
*' of the Spirit is fpirit," or fpiritual, holy, and heavenly* 
like its divine author*. He then told Nicodemusnot to 
wonder at his declaration, that even jews, Pharifees, 
and fcribes " muft be born again ;" and he iiiuftrated 
the fubje£fc by the wind, the precife caufe of which, 
in all its variations, cannot eafily be afcertained, nor 
its morions and energy altered or abated \ but which 
is very manifeft in its powerful effeBs. And when Nic- 
odemus ftill enquired " how thefe things could be ?V 
He in return exprefTed his furprife, that a teacher of 
Ifrael mould be at a lofs about fuch a fubje£t ! and con- 
cluded by reprefenting this part of his inftru£Hous as 
" earthly things" when compared with the deep myf- 
teries of his Perfon and Redemption, which he after- 
wards declared to him as "heavenly things." For this 
change takes place on earth continually, even as often as 
finners are turned from their evil ways, and become 
truly pious and holy perfons : it may very aptly be ii- 
iuftrated by the moil common concerns of life : it lies 
as level to our capacities, (if our minds were unprejudic- 
ed,) as almoft any of the works of God with which we 
are furrounded : and the neceffity of it may be proved by 
as cogent and conclufive arguments, as any thing of a 
worldly nature can be. — The que (lion then is, * What 
6 did our Lord mean by being torn again, or born of the 
4 Spiit V To this I (hail endeavour to give a plain and 
particular anfwer ; fubjoining a compendious review of 
the arguments, by which the neceffity of regeneration 
hath been often proved ; and concluding with fome ob- 
fervations and inferences of a practical nature and ten- 
dency. 

It hardly need be faid, that the ordinance of baptifm, 
however adminiftered, is not " regeneration by the. 
C( Spirit." They, who refolve all that is faid in Scripture 

* Rom, viii. 1....16. 






Essay XII. On Regeneration. Ill 

on this head into the obfervance of an external rite, muft 
fuppofe, that none can enter Chrift's church on earth,, 
or his kingdom in heaven ; or even underftand the real 
nature of them, unlefs they have been baptized with 
water ; whatever be their character or the caufe of the 
omiffion : nay, they mult likewife confider all baptized 
perfons as truly illuminated, real Chriltians and heirs of 
heaven -, for all that are born of God are his children 
and heirs. No doubt baptifm is, (as circumcifion was,) 
the outward fign of regeneration : but they who are fa- 
tisfied with the outward fign without the inward and 
fpiritual grace, fhould return to fchool or to the nurfe- 
ry, and learn over again a part of their catechifm, 
which they have no doubt forgotten : for it exprefsly 
ftates the inward and fpiritual grace of baptifm to be c a 
« death unto fin, and a new birth unto righteoufnefs.' 
Indeed the fathers as they are called, (that is, the 
t achers of the Chriftian church, during fome ages after 
the death of the Apoftles,) foon began to fpeak on this 
fubjecl: in unfcriptural language : and our pious refor- 
mers, from an undue regard to them and to the circum- 
ftances of the times, have retained a few expremons in 
the liturgy, which not only are inconfiftent with their 
other doctrine : but aifo tend to confufe men's minds, 
and miflead their judgment on this important fubjecl:. 
It is obvious, however, from the words above cited and 
many other paflages, that they never fuppofed the mere 
outward administration of baptifm to be regeneration, iri 
the ftricl: fenfe of the word : nor can any man, without 
the mod palpable abfurdity, overlook the difference be- 
tween the baptifm that is " outward in the flefli," and 
* that of the heart, by the Spirit, whofe praife is not of 
" men but of God*." 

Nor does regeneration merely fignify a reformation of 
the outward conduct, or a ceafing from vice to pra£tife 
virtue. Some perfons have been fo preferved from im- 
moralities, that they do not want fuch an outward re- 
formation, as is meant by thofe who favour this inter- 
pretation : yet they as well as others muft be born again, 

* Rom. ». 29. 1 Pet. iii. 19. 

Q 



178 On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

or they can neither fee,, nor enter into, the kingdom of 
God. Indeed, if the ftrong language and multiplied 
figures of the Scripture on the fubject, mean nothing 
more than this j we muft be conftrained to allow, that 
the plained matter in the world is fo covered and ob- 
fcured by myfterious language, as to render it extreme- 
ly perplexing, and even unintelligible, to ordinary rea- 
ders j for how fhould they fuppofe, according to the 
dictates of unlettered common fenfe, that fuch folemni- 
ty of introduction, emphafis of expreffion, anaVaccumu- 
lation of metaphors only meant, that a wicked man 
could not be an heir of he ven, unlefs he amended his 
life ? For who except avowed infidels or profligates, 
ever fuppofed that be could ? 

Neither is regeneration merely a converjion from one 
creed ox feci to another •, or even from atheifm, Judaifm, 
infidelity, or idolatry, to Chriftianity. A man might 
pafs through changes of this kind, tiii he had tried all 
the modes of religion that have been known on earth ; 
and yet at laft be excluded as unregenerate and un-- 
clean from the kingdom of Heaven. — On the other hand 
it does not con hit in any kind of iniprcffwns, or mw 1 eve- 
lations ; any fucceffion of terrors or confoiations ; or 
any whifper, as it were, from God to the heart concern- 
ing his fecret love, choice, or purpofe to fave a man. 
Many fuch experiences have been declared by thole, 
who ft ill evidently continued the flaves of fin ; and 
Satan, transformed into en angel of light, has done 
immenfe miichief in this way ; for the confidence of 
thefe perfons fecms in general to be rather the effect of 
of a ftrong delufion, and felf- flattery, than an expsefs 
defign of impofmg on other men. Some of tlitefe things 
indeed, (as terror, and confolation fucceeding i ,) com- 
monly accompany a faving change : others, which are 
evidently enthuiiaftic, may neverthelefs be found in the 
cafe of feme who are really born of God ; yet they are 
neither regeneration itfeif, nor any efreel or evidence of 
it ; but rather a difgraceful and injurious appendage to 
it, arifing from human infirmity and the devices of 
Satan. 

If we allow the expreffions, born of God, or born again, 
to be figurative : we muit alfo contend, that the meta- 



Essay XII. On Regeneration. 179 

phor is fignificant and proper. — A new born infant is a 
nefiv creature, brought into the world by almighty Pow- 
er, endued with life, and with certain propenfities and 
capacities. It is a human being, and has all things per- 
taining to our nature in a weak and incipient (fate : but 
by proper care and fuftenance, it may grow up to ma- 
turity, and the perfection of. manhood. — In like man- 
ner, the divine power produces in the mind of a (inner 
fuch a change as renders him a new creature, with new 
propenfities and capacities : but thefe are only in a 
feeble and incipient ilate, and expofed to much oppo- 
fition' and danger on every fide. Provifion is made for 
" this new born babe," hi " the fincere milk of the 
" word," and in the^falvation of Chrift ; by means of 
which, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, the re- 
generate man grows up gradually to maturity. — No 
new faculties are communicated in this change, as fome 
pious perfons have inaccurately (fated ; by which the 
fubjeel: has been rendered l'efs intelligible, and an open- 
ing given to many plaufible objections : but a new and 
heavenly diretlion is given to all thofe faculties which 
the Creator had heftowed, but which fin had perverted. 
The capacity of underflanding, believing, loving, and re- 
joicing, previoufly belonged to the man's nature : but 
the capacity of underftanding the real glory and excel- 
lency of heavenly things, of believing the humbling 
truths of revelation in an efficacious manner, of loving 
the holy beauty of the divine character and image, and 
of rejoicing in God's favour and fervice, belong to him 
as born of the Spirit. 

Regeneration may then be defined — * A change 
4 wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the 

* underftanding, will, and affections of a (inner, which 

* is the commencement of a new kind of life, and which 
6 gives another direction to his judgment, defires, pur- 
« fuits, and conduct.' — The mind feems to be firft 
prepared, by a divine energy, (like the removal of a 
film or other obftru&ion from the eyes of a blind man,) 
to perceive the real nature and comparative value of the 
objects around him, and of thofe propofed to him by 
the gofpel ■; concerning which, through the ignorance 
and depravity of his fallen nature, the corrupt maxims 



180 On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

of the world, and the artifices of Satan, he had form- 
ed a very erroneous judgment. Thus the eyes of his 
underftanding are opened ; and the light of divine truth 
{nines into his heart, and gradually rectifies his errors 
and mifapprehenfions*. The will and affecYions alfo 
are influenced in the fame manner: and the man feels 
a difpofition, to fear, hate, and fhun what he before 
delighted in, or regarded as harmlefs 5 and to love, 
chufe, defire, and rejoice in, thofe things, that before 
he defpifed or hated. He feems to be introduced, as 
it were, into a new world, in which he views himfelf, 
and all things around him, through a new medium. 
He wonders, that he had not before feen them in the 
fame light : and frequently he is fo amazed at the in- 
fenfibility or delufions of mankind, that he imputes 
them to mere ignorance, and imagines that proper in- 
ftru&ions would bring them all over to his fentiments ; 
nor is he eafiiy convinced of his miflake. He now pof- 
fefles as it were a whole fyjlem of affections, of which 
he formerly had no conception : his fears and hopes, 
attachments and averfions, joys and forrows, fuccefTes 
and diiappointments, principally relate to thofe things 
which before gave him fcarcely any concern ; but which 
now appear to him of fuch vaft importance, that the 
objects which once engroffed his mind proportionably 
dwindle into hifignificancy, even where he does not fee 
them to be criminal, polluting, and enfnaring. Hence 
it often happens that the new convert grows inattentive 
to fuch matters, deeming them comparatively mere 
trifles -, and can only be retained in his ftation, or en- 
gaged to be diligent in worldly bufmefs, by a fenfe of 
duty, and a regard to the honour of the gofpel. 

It is not to be expected, that we mould be capable 
of explaining the manner in which the Holy Spirit ef- 
fects this internal change : for we cannot underftand 
how God creates and forms the body in the womb, or 
how he breathes into it the breath of life. It is of more 
importance for us to point out with precifion thofe 
fpecial effects, by which regeneration is diftinguifhed 



* Acts, xvi. 14. xxvi. 18. Eph. i. 18. 



Kssay XII. On Regeneration, * 181 

from all counterfeits. — Among thefe fpecial effeEls we 
may firft mention, an habitual and prevailing regard to 
the authority, favour, difpleafure, ?.nd glory of God, in 
the general tenor of a man's condu£t, even when mofl 
remote from human obfervation ; an abiding fenfe of 
his all-feeing eye, his conftant prefence, and his all- 
directing and fuftaining providence ; and an unwaver- 
ing perfuafion of his right to our worfhip, love, and 
fervice, and of our obligations and accountablenefs to 
him. Connected with this, regeneration always pro*- 
duces a deep and efficacious apprehenfion of the reality, 
nearnefs, and importance of eternal things, and our 
infinite concern in them ; fo that compared with them 
all temporal things appear as nothing. This will be 
accompanied with a new difpofition to reverence, ex- 
amine, believe, and fubmit to the decisions of, the 
holy Scriptures ; yea, a defire after them, and delight 
in them, as the proper nourimment of the foul*. 

If the perfon, who has recently experienced this fa- 
ving change, had been previoufly deflitute of religious 
knowledge, he will find, that an increafing acquaint- 
ance with the holinefs of God and his obligations to 
him ; with the reafonablenefs, fpirituaiity, and fane- 
tion of the divine law ; and with his own pail and 
prefent conduct, difpofitions, motives, and affections, 
as compared with this perfect ftandard ; lead him to a 
deeper conviction of his finfulnefs, expofednefs to de- 
ferved wrath, inability to juftify or fave himfelf, and 
need of repentance, forgivenefs, and the influences of. 
divine grace : and if he before had fome meafure of 
doctrinal knowledge ; the truth, that had lain dormant, 
will now become a living principle of action in his fouJ. 
Thus felf-dependance and every towering imagination 
will be caft down ; all his fuppoled righteouihefs will be 
found to have fprung from corrupt motives, and to have 
been both defective and defiled -, and whatever his pre- 
vious character may have been, "God be merciful to 
" me a (inner," will be the genuine language of his 
heart. So that deep humiliation and feif-abafement y 



Pet. ii. 
Q2 



182 On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

a broken and contrite fpirit, godly forrow, repentance, 
and.converfion to God, are the never failing effeas of 
regeneration. 

Thus the divine Saviour, and his merits, atonement, 
and mediation, become glorious in the eyes, and pre- 
cious to the heart of the regenerated finner : he now 
perceives in fome degree the wifdom, and feels the 
power, of the doctrine of the crofs which before he 
deemed foolifiinefs : he " counts all but lofs for the 
" excellency of the knowledge of Chrift," and gladly 
receives him, as his Prophet, Prieft, and King*. He 
learns to love him whom he once flighted and defpifed : 
he begins to admire the excellency of his character, to 
value hh favour, and to defire communion with him 
above all things •, to be thankful for his unfpeakable 
love and ineftimable benefits ; to be zealous for his 
honour, and devoted to his caufe •, to love the brethren 
for his fake, and his neighbours and enemies after his 
examplef ; and to exercife felf-denial, and to endure 
lofs, hardfhip, or fufFering in his fervice. By degrees 
he is even enabled to fay with the Apoftle, " God for- 
f} bid that I mould glory fave in the crofs of our Lord 
" Jefus Chrift, by whom the world is crucified to me, 
" and I unto the world:}:*" " For. whatfoever is born 
li of God overcometh the world and this is the victory 
H that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is 
" he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth 
ft that Jefus is the Son of God§." 

The Apoftle John mentions in a detached manner 
feveral other peculiar effects of regeneration — " Who- 
(l foever is born of God doth not commit fin : for his 
t€ feed remaineth in him ; and he cannot fin, becaufe 
«< he is bom of God." " In this the children of God 
** are manifeft and the children of the devil : whofo- 
< { ever doeth not right ooufnefs is not of God, neither 
" he that loveth not his brother]!." " Ye know that 
" every one that doeth righteoufnefs is born of- him." 
<* "We know that we' have paffsd from death to life, be- 



* John, 5. 12, 13. 1 John, v. 1. 

t 1 John, iii. 14. iv. 21. ' \ Gal. vK 14. 

.§ 1 John, v. 4, 5. fj 1 John, iii. 9, 10. 



Essay XII. On Regeneration, 183 

" caufe we love the brethren :" for " Every one that 
it lovtth is born of God and knoweth God." " We 
V know that whofoever is born of God finneth not*." 
Thus all the regenerate may adopt the Apoftle's words, 
" With open face beholding as in a glafs the glory of 
" the Lord; we are changed into the fame image, 
" from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the 
" Lordf .." So that repentance, faith in Chrift, love of 
God and man, love of ihe brethren in an efpecial man^ 
ner, deliverance from the dominion of (in and Satan, 
victory over the world, abhorrence of evil, patience, 
meeknefs, fpirituality, temperance, juftice, truth, pu- 
rity, and all the fruits of the Spirit, are the genuine 
effects of that change, without which " no man can 
" fee," or " enter into the kingdom of God j ' though 
the whole is imperfect in the degree, and counteracted 
by the remaining power of in-dwelling fin and manifold 
temptations. 

That this is the real meaning of this fcriptural ex- 
predion, may be further evinced, by briefly confidering 
feveral other metaphors which exprefs the fame change. 
It is called a new creation.—" If any man be in Chrift, 
" he is a new creature ; old things are paifed away ; 
" behold all things are become newj !" The Apofile 
fpeaks of it, with allufion to the creation of the world, 
" God who commanded the light to fnine out of dark- 
" nefs hath mined into our hearts, to give the light 
" of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jefus 
" Chrift." Thus educing likewife, order out of con- 
fufion, and beauty out of deformity^. " In Chrift Jefus 
" neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
." cumcifion, but a new creature" ox a new creation ,• 
<( for we are his workmanfhip, created in Chrift jefus 
" unto good works ||." 

It is alfo a refurreElion — There are, fo to fpeak, 
three kinds of life \ animal \ rational, and fpi ritual. Ani- 
mal life implies the capacity of performing animal func- 
tions and relilhing animal pleafures, which man poiTeiles 



* 1 John, ii. 29. iii. 14. iv. 7. v. IS. \ 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18. 
| 9 Cor. v. 17. § v Cor. iv. 6. 

ft Gal. vi. 15. Eph. ii. aO. iv, l i4. 



l'84j On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

in common with brutes : rational life rifes a degree 
above this, and includes the capacity of rational invefti- 
gation, and of relifhing intellectual pleafure, of which 
mere animals have no conception ; this, man poflefles 
in common with unembodied fpirits : but fpiritual life 
is a ftiil nobler diftin£tion, and the perfection of creat- 
ed being ; as it confifts in the capacity of performing, 
and delighting in fpiritual actions, in which angels 
find their chief felicity, but of which the moft rational 
man in the world, who is not born again, is as entirely 
incapable as the brutes are of philofophy. Animal life 
may fubfift without either intellectual or ffpiritual ca- 
pacities ; thefe may fubfift apart from animal propensi- 
ties ; and an intelligent agent may be deftitute of fpirit- 
ual capacity, as fallen angels are : but fpiritual life 
prefuppofes rational powers. Adam created in the 
image of God, pofleffed them all: but when he finned 
he loft his fpiritual life ; for the Spirit of life departed 
and he became dead in fin. From that time he had pof- 
fefTed the propenfitie's of animal nature, and the capaci- 
ties of an intelligent agent : but he became incapable of 
delighting in the fpiritual excellency of divine things j 
and this is the Condition of every man until " the 
" Spirit of life in Chrift Jefus makes him free from the 
«* law of fin and death*," by that fpiritual refurrecYion 
of which we fpeakf . 

The Lord alfo repeatedly promifes " to give his 
" people a new heart, and a new fpirit " " a heart of 
u flefh inftead of a heart of ' flone ,-" and (c to write /.is 
t( law in the hearty :" and this mult certainly imply 
fuch an entire change wrought in the judgment, difpo- 
fitions, and ajfeclions, as conftitutes a preparation for 
obeying " not by conftraint but willingly." This is 
alfo defcribed as " putting off," or " crucifying, the 
"old man 5" " crucifying the fiefh with its affections 
" and lulls." " putting on the new man ," being 
" transformed by the renewing of our mind 5" or s< re- 
" newed in the fpirit of our mind, and putting on » . 



* Rom. viiii. 2. f Rom. vi. 4. Eph. ii. 1, 5, 6. Col. iii. 1. 
I Eztk. 3d. 19, 20 xxxvi. 25...S7. Jer. xxxi, 31«.33, 



Essay XII. On Regeneration. 185 

'« new man y which after God is created in righteoufnefs 
c « and true holinefs*." Thefe expreffions efpecially 
teach us, that regeneration is the beginning of a faikn 
creature's recovery to that rectitude of foul, and con- 
formity to the holy image of God, in which he had at 
firft been created, but which had been loft by fin. In 
this view David prayed, " create in me a clean heart, 
" O God, and renew a right fpirit within mef ." This 
fame renovation is iikewife fpoken of by Mofes when 
he fays, " The Lord thy God will circumcife thine 
" heart, and the heart of thy feed, to iove the Lord 
¥ thy God with all thy heart, and with ail thy foul, 
" that thou mayeft live ;" and m many other places it 
is mentioned under the fame imaged It is alfo repre- 
fented by the grafting of a tree, through which the 
nature of it is changed and meliorated, and made to 
bear good fruit. — Thefe and fuch like metaphors and 
fimilitudes abundantly illuftrate and confirm the expla- 
nation that hath been given of regeneration : but can 
never be made to coincide with the fentiments of thofe, 
who explain it of an outward form or amendment ; or 
of fuch, as miftake fome tranfient impreffions or emo- 
tions, for this abiding renovation of heart. 

The necejjity of regeneration might indeed be entirely 
retted on the folemn and repeated declarations of the 
Saviour and Judge of men : for thofe multitudes, who 
hope for heaven while they pay no regard to this part of 
Scripture, ftrangely prefume, either that Chrift was 
miftakm, or that he will depart from his word in their 
favour ! But other conclusive proofs may be adduced, 
that " except a man be born again, he cannot enter 
" the kingdom of God ;" which refult from the nature 
of God and of man, of true religion, and of happinefs. 

No creature can be fatisfied, unlefs its capacities of 
enjoyment coincide with its fources of pleafure, or un- 
lefs it fubfifl in its proper element. The various kinds 
of animals are perfectly fatisfied with their feveral modes 
of living, while unmolefted and fufficiently provided 



* Rom. xii. 2. Gal. v. 24. Eph. iv. 23...24. Co. Hi. 9, 10. 

f Ps. li. 10. 

% Deut. xxx. 6. Act. vii. 51. Rom. ii. 28, 29. Col. ii. 11. 



186 On Regeneration. Essay XII. 

for : but they are uneafy when out of their place, though 
in a fituation which pleafea other creatures. Different 
men aifo have different tailes : none is comfortable, un- 
lefs his inclination be gratified \ and every one is apt to 
wonder, what pleafure others can take in that which is 
irkfome to him. But who is there, that naturally takes 
delight in the fpiritual worfhip and fervice of God ? Are 
not thefe things man's wearinefs and averfion ? And do 
not men in general deem thole perfons melancholy who 
renounce other pleafures for the fake of them ? That 
ff which is born of the flefii, is fiefti," or carnal \ "and 
" the carnal mind is enmity againft God j" whofe holy 
perfections, fpiritual law and wbrfhip, fovereign author- 
ity, and humbling truth, are difliked by all unregene- 
rate men, in proportion as they become acquainted with 
them. This ib manifeft, not only from the vices of 
mankind, but from the • revalence of idolatry, infidelity, 
fuperttition, and impiety : for men have, in every age, 
almoif. with one confent, preferred any abfurdity to the 
truths, precepts, and ordinances of revelation ! and 
every bafe idol to the Holy One of Ifrael ! 

Indeed they who carefully watch their own hearts, 
while they think ferioufly of the omnipre fence, omni- 
potence, omnifcience, juftice, holinefs, truth, and fove- 
reignty of God j of his laws, threatenings and judg- 
ments ; and of their own pad and prefenr fins, will find 
" a witnefs in themfelves," to the enmity of the carnal 
mind againft God. So that except a man be born again, 
he cannot take any pleafure in God, nor can God take 
any pieafure in him : he cannot come to him or walk 
with him* : he cannot render him unfeigned praifes 
an J thankfgivings ; but mull either neglect religion, or 
be a mere formaiift. He can neither deem the fervice 
of God perfect freedom, and regard it as his privilege, 
honour, and happinefs ; nor exercife unfeigned repen- 
tance for all his fins j but in part at leaft, he will exalt 
himfelf, palliate his crimes, object to the feverity of God, 
and murmur at his appointments. He cannot cordially 
receive the gofpel, or live by faith in Chrift for " wif- 

* * Amos, iii. 3. 



Essay XII. On Regeneration, 187 

" dom, righteoufnefs, falsification, and redemption •," 
nor perceive the precioufnefs of his Perfon, mediation, 
and kingdom, the glory of his crofs, his unfearchable 
riches, and incomprehenfible love. It is impofiible that 
he mould unfeignedly give the Lord the whole glory of 
his falvation •, or pra&ife, from proper motives meek- 
nefs, patience, gratitude, forgivenefs of injuries, and 
love of enemies ; or count all but lofs for Chrift, re- 
nounce all for him, bear reproach and perfecution for 
his fake,' devote himfelf to his fervice, even unto death ; 
and then at lafl receive eternal life as the free gift of 
God in him. Nor can he enter into the fpiritual mean- 
ing of divine ordinances, (efpecially of baptifm and the 
Lord's fupper *,) or feek the fpiritual bleffings of the new- 
covenant with decided preference ; or love the true wor- 
fhippers of God as the excellent and honourable of the 
earth. Nay, an unregenerate man would not favour 
the company, the work, the worfhip, or the joy of 
heaven ; but would be di gufted even with the longs 
and employment--, of Angels, and the fpirits of juft men 
madeperfect ; as perfons of different defcriptions mult 
know, if they would but carefully confider the fubjecl:, 
and refle£fc on the (late and thoughts of their own hearts. 
But the nature of God, of holinefs, of happinefs, and 
of heaven, is unchangeable-: and therefore, either ive 
muff be changed, or we cannot be either holy or happy. 

All the Scriptures above referred to imply, that rege- 
neration is wrought by ,€ the exceeding greatnefs of the 
mighty power of God :" but, it fliould be obferved, 
that he operates on the minds of rational creatures ac- 
cording to their nature. The inftantaneous renewal of 
a fallen angel to the divine image, would be as real a 
difplay of omnipotence as his firft creation, and in fome 
refpe£fcs a greater : but the Lord might effect this reno- 
vation in a different- manner. Havino- made ufe of 
truth, as the medium of his almighty energy, in over- 
coming the dark and obftinate enmity of his fallen nature, 
and in producing a willingnefs to be reftored ; he might 
afterwards require his concurrence in the ufe of means, 
through which that recovery ihould be effected. Now 
we are informed, that the Lord ^regenerates turners by 



188 On Regeneration. Essay XIL 

his word* : mimfters, therefore, and parents, and many 
others in different ways, are bound to fet before tnofe 
committed to their care, the word of truth ; and to treat 
them a^ reafonabie creatures, addreffing their under- 
standings and confciences, their hopes, fear^, and all 
the paflions and powers of their fouls ; befeeching God 
** to give them repentance to the acknowledging of the 
" truth," And all they, who are convinced, that fuch 
a renewal mull take place in them, or eife that they 
mud be miferable, mould be induced by the confidera- 
tion that they cannot change their own hearts, (that be- 
ing the work of the Holy Spirit,) to feek this needful 
blemng, by reading the Scriptures, retirement, medita- 
tion, felf-examination, hallowing the Lord's day, hear- 
ing faithful preaching and other inftru£tion, breaking 
off known fin, pra£tifing known duties, avoiding vain 
company and diflipation, and earnestly praying to God 
to " create in them a clean heart, and to renew a right 
V fpirit within them." Convictions of our inability 
have a fimilar-effe£t upon us in all other cafes ; and uni- 
formly induce us to feek help from thofe who are able to 
help us, with an earneftnefs proportioned to the fup- 
pofed importance of the intereft that is at ftake. 

As for thofe who continue to treat this fubjecl: with 
contempt and derifion : it is fufficient to obferve, that, 
feeing they will neither believe our teftimony, ;or that 
of Chriil *, they will at laft have no caufe to complain, 
if they are left deftitute of that gracious influence which 
they have fo defpifed. — Some may however believe, that 
fuch things are^ who are yet at a lofs to know nvhat they 
are: and them I would prefs in the moft urgent man- 
ner, to beg of God daily and earneftly, to teach them 
what it is to be born again ; and thus in due time their 
own experience will terminate their perplexity. — But let 
thofe who admit the dodtrine beware left they reft in 
the notioriy without the experience and effects of it. And 
finally,' let all who have known the happy change alfo 
recollect continually, that they need to be renewed 
more and rnoref \ and mould, therefore, unite with 



Jam. i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 23. f Tit. iii. 5. 



Essay XII. On the Holy Spirit. 189 

gratitude for what the Lord hath wrought, perfevering 
prayer for a more complete recovery unto the divine 
image, in ail the powers, difpofitions, and affections of 
their fouls. 



ESSAY XIII. 

On the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit : 
with some thoughts on the doclrine of the sacred 
Trinity. 



j HE Chriftian difpenfation is diftinguifhed by the 
Apoftles as " the miniftration of the Spirit* ;" and a 
careful inveftigation of the Scriptures mud convince an 
impartial enquirer, that the promife of the Holy Ghoft 
is the grand peculiarity of the New Tefbment, even as 
that of the Mefliah was of the Old. Having (hewn the 
nature and necefhty of regeneration^ it regularly occurs 
to us in this place, to give a more particular ftatement 
of the fcriptural doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit. 
Thofe things which relate to the perfonality and Deity 
of the Spirit, and to the doElrine of the Trinity as con- 
nected with it, will constitute therefore our prefent fub- 
je& : while his extraordinary and ordinary operations, 
influences, and gifts ; the office he performs in the 
economy of our falvation ; and the duties refulting 
from them, muft b^ referved for the fubfequent Effay. 
When we ufe the term perfonality in the difcuffion of 
this fubje£t, we limply mean, that janguage is ufed in 
Scripture concerning the Holy Spirit, and actions are 
afcribed to him, which are fuited to convey the idea of 



* 2 Cor. iii. 8. 
R 



190 On the Personality and Deity Essay XIII. 

a perfonal Agent ; and fuch as would be extremely im- 
proper, if a mere attribute or mode of operation were in- 
tended. Yet all who deny the personality of the Holy 
Ghcft, and pay any fuitable refpedt to the facred or- 
a.les in wh'ch fo much is conftantly afcribed to him, mull 
hold the latter opinion. We do not however fuppofe, 
that the words perfon 2.116. perfonality can, in an adequate 
manner, explain to us the diftin£t fubfiftence of the 
Spirit; or affift our conceptions inrefpe£t of myfteries, 
which we profefs to confider as abfolutely incomprehen- 
fible. 

Indeed the words themfelves, in this ufe of them, 
are not found in Scripture : but when divine truths are 
oppofed with ingenuity, learning, and pertinacity ; it 
becomes neceffary for thofe, who would " contend 
" earneflly for the faith once delivered to the faints," 
to vary their expreflions : becaufe their opponents will 
invent fome piaufible method of explaining away thofe 
terms which had before been made ufe of. That im- 
perfection, which characterizes every thing that belongs 
to man, is peculiarly difcernible in human language : 
the myfteries of the infinite God can only be declared to 
us, in words primarily taken from the relations and af- 
fairs of men ; and every thing that relates to infinity 
confounds and overwhelms our finite and narrow capa- 
cities. The moft careful and able writers cannot, on 
fuch topics, wholly prevent their readers from attach- 
ing ideas to their words, which they did not mean to 
convey by them : fo that they, whofe obje£t it is to put 
an abfurd conftru&ion on our expreftions, or to ener- 
vate by a piaufible interpretation the language of Holy 
Scripture, will never find it very difficult to accomplifh 
their purpofe, as far as the generality of mankind are 
concerned. If we fpeak of three diftincl Perfons in the 
Godhead, they may charge us witfe holding three dif- 
tin£fc gods ; fuppofing or pretending, we mean, that 
this incomprehensible diftin<Stion is perfectly like the obvi- 
our diftin&ion of three men from each other. On the 
other hand, the labour, ftudy, and ingenuity of revolv- 
ing centuries have fo perplexed the fubjedt, that we 
cannot at prefent find words explicitly to ftate our fen- 
timents, and exactly to mark in what fefpe&s we differ 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. 191 

from our opponents, unlefs we ufe fuch terms as they 
object to : at lead this is my principal reafon for adher- 
ing to them. If however our expreffions convey to the 
reader's mind the doctrine of Scripture, with as much 
jperipicuily and precifion, as human language generally 
admits of; it is mere trifling to object to them, becaufe 
they are not found in the Bible : for truths not words 
constitute the matter of revelation, and words are only 
the vehicle of truths to our minds. We are in facl: 
deeply convinced that fome men have got the habit or 
art of evading the force of fcriptural terms ; and of 
thus misleading others into error : and is it not allowa- 
ble for us to (late our fentiments in other words ; and 
then to prove that thofe fentiments are actually con- 
tained in Holy Scripture ? or can we do other wife, un- 
lefs we be difpofed to give our opponents every pofiible 
advantage in the argument ? For it cannot well be doubt- 
ed by impartial perfons, but that averiion to the doc- 
trines themfelves lies at the bottom of thofe objections, 
which are made to the words in which their defenders 
have been ufed to exprefs them. 

We proceed therefore to confider the perfonality of the 
Holy Spirit : premifing, that as " thefe are heavenly 
*• things*/' we can neither explain them clearly in hu- 
man language, nor illuftrate them fully by earthly things, 
nor yet prove them by arguments from human reafon. 
The whole refts entirely on the authority of divine re- 
velation ; we gain our knowledge of them by (imply be- 
lieving God's fure teftimony ; and we ihouid improve 
them to practical purpofes in humble adoration, and not 
treat them as fubje£ts of difputatious fpeculation, or 
prefumptuouscuriofity. And may He, who hath pro- 
mifed to " give his Holy Spirit to thofe who afk him," 
guide us by his divine teaching into the fan&ifying 
knowledge of the truth, in this and every fubjeft that 
we inveftigate. 

If fuch' language be uniformly ufed in the Scriptures 
concerning the Holy Spirit, as in all other cafes would 
convey to our minds the ideas of perfonality and perfonal 



John, ill. 12, 13. 



192 On the Personality and Deity Essay XIIL 

agency ; we may be fure that the true believer will con- 
clude him to be a perfonal Agent. In allegories indeed, 
and in fublime poetry, we often rind attributes, propen- 
sities, or modes of opperation perfonified ; but none, ex- 
cept the moft ignorant reader, is in danger of being mif- 
led. Should any man fuppofe, that Wifdom, in the book 
of Proverbs, was introduced merely as an allegorical per- 
fon *, we might allow that he had ibme colour for his 
opinion : though I mould rather fay, that the Meffiah, 
the Word and Wifdom of the Father, who is made wif- 
dom to us, is. the real fpeaker in thofe pafTages. — But if 
fuch bold figures of fpeech, without any intimation, ^re 
interwoven in hiftorical or didactic difcuffions ; or in 
promifes and precepts, that is grants and laws where the 
greateft precision is abfolutely necefiary : what instruction 
can be certainly denv ed from revelation ? or how fhall we 
know what we are to believe, to do, or to expect ? Surely 
this fuppoficion tends directly to render the Scriptures ufe- 
leis ; and to perplex and bewilder every ferious enquirer 
after the way of eternal life ! Yet I lhall efpecially felect 
my proofs of the perfonality of the Holy Spirit, from thofe 
parts of the facred Volume, which are of the latter 
description. 

Our Lord thus encouraged his Apoftles, when about 
to leave them ; " I will pray the Father, and he fhall 
** give you another Comforter ^ that he may abide with 
" you forever, even the Spirit of Truth*." afterwards 
» he added, The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, 
" whom the Father (hail send in my name, He fhall 
" teach you all thingsf :" and the perfonal pronoun 
(fx£/vor>) is ufed in this and feveral other paflages, efpeci- 
ally in thofe that follow. " When the Comforter is 
come, — even the Spirit of Truth, which proceed eth 
«< from the Father, He mall tehify of mej." « When 
" i/^cometb, — he {hall not f'peak of himfelf j but what- 
« soever He fhall hear that fhall he fpeak :" " He fhall 
" glorify me ; for he fhall receive of mine, and fhall 
« mew it unto you|j :" Not to infift further on the re- 



16. 17. t John, xiv, 26. \ John, xv. 26. 

I! John, xvi. 7....15. 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. 193 

peated ufe of the perfonal pronoun, which the ordinary 
rules of language appropriate, in fuch di/cour/es, to a per- 
fonal agent ; being /ent, comings tejli/ying, receivings /hew- 
ing, teachings hean.ig and /peaking, do undoubtedly imply 
perfonal agency, if any words can determinately convey 
that idea : and if we fuppoie the ftrongeft rhetorical 
figures, that ever orators or poets have ufed, to be con- 
ftantly interwoven, in the plaineft inftruc"tions and pro- 
mifes ; we muft infer that the language of the Scripture 
is fo indeterminate and unufu'al, that no certain conclu- 
sions can be drawn from it. This indeed feems to be the 
inference, that fome interpreters of the Scripture are 
willing fhould be deduced from their obfervations : but 
an insinuation more difhonourable to God, and to his 
holy word can hardly be imagined. 

In like manner the Apoftle Paul, when exprefsly in- 
ftrucling the Corinthians concerning the gifts of the Spir- 
it, ufes the ftrongeft perfonal language : " All* thei'e 
" worketh that one "and felf-fame Spirit, dividing to 
*' every man feverally as He wilt* ;" but are not work- 
ing, dividing, and willing, perfonal acts ? or can fuch 
terms be ufed of a mere attribute, confidently with the 
precision required in religious inftruclions ? — Again, he 
fays "The Spirit fearcheth all things •, yea, the deep 
" things of God. For what man knoweth the things 
«* of a man, fave the fpirit of man, which is in him ?, 
" Even fo the things of God knoweth no man, but the 
" Spirit of Godf." 

We read likewife that the Holy Spirit, dwells in us, 
leads us, bears witne/s with our Jpirits, makes inter- 
cejfwn /or us ; and " He that leadeth the hearts,, 
" knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit :" but who 
can deny that all this implies per/onal agency^ ? — The 
facred hiftorian alfo records feveral inftances, in which 
the Holy Spirit fpoke, aCr.ed, and commanded. " The 
" Holy Ghoft fpake by the mouth of David§ ;" " The 
« Spirit faid to PhilipH :" « The Spirit faid to Peter, 



* Cor. xii. 11. t C-r. ii. 10. 

\ Rom. viii. 11. 14. 16. 26.- 27. § Acts,!. 16. 

| Acts, viii. 29. 

R 2 



194 On the Personality and Deity Essay XIIL 

" — Arife, get thee down*:" « The Holy Ghoft faid, 
" Separate me Barnabas and Saul ; and they, being 
" fent forth by the Holy Ghoft, departedf." " It 
« feemed good to the Holy Ghoft£." " They were 
*< forbidden of the Holy Ghoft."—" The Spirit fuffer- 
« ed them not§" « Well fpake the Holy Ghoft by 
" Efaias||." To this the language of other Scriptures 
«« accords, « Wherefore as the Holy Ghoft faith** :" 
" Let him hear what the Spirit faith unto the church- 
" esff " That this is the frequent phrafeology of 
" Scripture is undeniable : and as the facred oracles 
were given to make us wife unto falvation ; fo it is evi- 
dent, that we are taught in them to think of the Holy 
Spirit, as of an Agent, willing, hearing, /peaking, acling, 
commanding, forbidding, receiving and executing a commif- 
Jion ; and performing a part in the great work of our 
falvation, diftind-l from that of the Father by whom, 
or that of the Son through whom, he is given unto 
men. I apprehend, that they, who'deny this do£tnne, 
would feel themfelves embarralTed, in familiarly ufing 
fuch language as this concerning the Spirit ; or in fpeak- 
ing " according to the oracles of God," in their dif- 
courfes, treatifes, or devotions: at leaft many of them 
deem it convenient to adopt a more literal, philofophi- 
cal, or modern ftyle, than that of the Scriptures; left 
they ihoulii miftead fome of their uneftablifhed dif- 
ciples, or give men reafon to call their confiftency in 
queftion. 

When the perfonality of the Holy Spirit has been 
proved from the word of God ; little difficulty remains 
in afcertaining his Deity. The powerful operation 
of the Holy Ghoft, in our Lord's miraculous concep- 
tion, rendered it proper to call Him the Son of God, 
even in refpecl: of his human nature^. Ananias, by 
lying to the Holy Ghoft, lied unto God§§ : Chriftians 
are " the temple of God, and the Spirit of God 



* Acts, x. \% SO. f Acts, xiii. 2, 4. 

% Art:-, xv. 28. § Ac% xvi. 6, 7, jj Acts, xxviii. 35* 

** Heb. iii. 7. ft Rev. ii. f. 

%\ Luke, i. 35» §5 Acts, v. 3, 4, 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. 195 

" dwelleth in them ;" yea, they are " an habitation of 
" God through the Spirit*:" Indeed the indwelling of 
the Holy Spirit in all believers, wherefoever difperfed 
or however numerous, evidently implies the divine 
attribute of Omniprefence : nor could he " fearch all 
" things, yea, even the deep things of God ; unlefs he 
were Omnifcient. His work of regeneration, or new 
creation, and fan6tification, requires Omnipotence to 
effect it : and furely all thefe are divine attributes, in- 
communicable to any creature. Yet, " if any man 
" have not the Spirit of Chriit, he is none of Hisf :" 
and they are looked upon by the Apoflle as ftrangely 
ignorant of Chriffcianity, who do not know that Chrif- 
tians " are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of 
" God dwelleth in them." But of this more abundant 
pr6of will be given, when we come to confider the 
ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit. 

The very titles given Him confirm the fame conclu- 
sion. He is called by way of eminence, " the Holy 
" Spirit," " the Spirit of Holinefs," " the Spirit of 
" Truth," " the Spirit of Power," " the Spirit of Prom- 
" ife," " the Spirit of Wifdom and Knowledge," " the 
" Comforter," « the Eternal Spirit." Thefe, and feve- 
ral other expreffions of a fimilar nature, feem to denote 
both his effential perfections, and the nature or effecl: 
of his influences on our minds •, and to diftinguifn him 
from all thofe created fpirits, which are " fent forth to 
*« minifter to the heirs of falvation." And when it 
is faid, that " He divideth to every man feverally as 
" he will •," his divine Sovereignty, as well as his per- 
fonal volition, is declared to us. 

But if diflincl perfonality, agency ', and divine perfeB'wfrs 
be, in Scripture, afcribed to the Father, and to the 
Son, and to the Holy Spirit : no words can more 
exactly exprefs the doctrine, which mull unavoidably 
be thence inferred, than thofe commonly ufed on this 
fubjecl:, viz. that ' there are three diftincr. Perfons in 
* the U-nity of the Godhead.' The facred oracles moft 



* 1 Cor, iii. 16, 17. vi. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. ; A. 22. 
T Rom. viii. 9...11. 



19© On the Personality and Deity Essay XIIL 

affiiredly teach us, that the One living, and true God 
is, in fome inexplicable manner Triune : for He is 
fpoken of, as One in fome refpe&s, and as Three in 
others. Nor is it a matter of fubordinate importance ; 
as the dependence, confidence, affections, and worfhip, 
peculiar to Chriftianity, are manifeftly connected by an 
indiuoluble tye, with our fentiments in this refpe£t : 
for, (not to anticipate the fubjecl: of the enfuing EiTay,) 
how can we aviod " grieving the Spirit," if we enter- 
tain thoughts of Him infinitely beneath his divine dig- 
nity and excellency t 

Men may and probably will, perfift in confidently 
ajferting without proofs that the doctrine of the Trinity 
is either a contradiction in itfelf, or inconfiftent with 
the Unity of the Deity •, they may inform us, that the 
primitive Chriilians learned it from Plato and his fol- 
lowers, and fo corrupted the faith by philofophy ; 
(though it is a thoufand times more likely, that Plato 
borrowed his ideas from thofe Scriptures which were 
extant in his time :) and they may dignify themfelves 
with the name of Unitarians, as if none elfe worship- 
ped the one true God. But we mail ftill have the fa- 
tisfaCtion, (mingled with our regret at fuch departures 
from the faith,) to find that they grow proportionably 
fhy of the phrafeology of the Scriptures \ that they 
want to diminiih men's reverence for the facred wri- 
ters ; that they are conftrained to adopt methods of 
interpretation, in refpect of thofe teftimonies they ftill 
admit to be a divine revelation, which would be deem- 
ed contemptible, if employed in fixing the fenfe of 
any reputable claffical writer ; and that they make their 
principal appeal; not to the oracles of God, but to 
the oracles of human reafon, or to the vague and dif- 
puted ftandard of antiquity. It rauft be evident to all, 
who are converfant with modern treatifes on thefe fub- 
jects, that fuch as oppofe the doctrine of the Trinity, 
no longer attempt to fupport their fentiments, by ap- 
pealing to the Scriptures as the ftandard of truth ; and 
particularly examining and anfwering the arguments we 
thence deduce : at the fame time allowing the Bible, 
as we have received it from our fathers, to be the in- 
fallible word of God ; and that it ought to be interpret- 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. ' 197 

ed by the fame rules which judicious fcholars employ 
in explaining other ancient writers. A very f ;all part 
of the Scripture is by them confidered to be of divine 
authority : and they would have us difcard the reft as 
doubtful or irrational, or at molt to give it a very fub- 
©rdinate meafure of attention. 

Could it be proved that Trinitarians were not Unitarians 
alfo, fome ground would be gained by their opponents : 
but we fuppofe, that the Trinity of Perfons in the Deity 
confiils with the Unity of the divine EfTences -, though we 
pretend not to explain the modus . of it, and deem thofe 
reprehenfible who have attempted it : as the modus in 
which any being fubfifts, according to its diftincr. nature 
and known properties, is a fecret to the mod learned na- 
turalift to this prefent day, vnd piobably will always fo 
continue. But if the moft common of God's works, 
with which we are the molt converfant, be in this refpeffi 
incomprehenlible ; how can men think, that the modus 
exiftendi) (or manner of exiftenee,) of the infinite Crea- 
tor can be level to their capacities ? — The doctrine of the 
Trinity is indeed a myjiery : but no man hath yet (hewn, 
that it involves in it a real co?itradiElion. Many have ven- 
tured to fay, that it ought to be ranked with tranfubftan- 
tiation, as equally abfurd. But Arch-bifhop Tiliotfon 
has fhewn, by the moil convincing arguments imagina- 
ble, that tranfubftantiation, includes fr he moft palpable 
contradictions ; and that we have the evidence of our eyes y 
feelings and tafe, that what we receive in the Lord's flip- 
per is bread, and not the body of a man ; whereas we have 
the teftimony of our eyes alone that the words " This is 
" my body/' are at all in the Scriptures. — Now this is 
intelligible to the meaneft capacitv ; it is fairly made out, 
and perfectly unanfwerable ; but who ever attempted 
thus to prove the doctrine of the Trinity to be felf-con- 
tradi&ory ? What teftimony of our fenfes, or what de- 
monftrated proposition does it contradict ? Yet till this 
be (hewn, it is neither fair, nor convincing, to exclaim 
agninft it as contradictory, abfurd, and irrational. 

It is indeed very eafy to fay that Three and One can- 
not be the fame ; and then to (new, that an abfurd notion, 
which they falfely charge us with maintaining, is felf r 



198 On the Personality and Deity Essay XIII. 

contradictory. But, if we may not quote* as a proof of 
our doclrine, that remarkable text which has been fo much 
contefted ; whether it contain the genuine words of the 
Apoflle, or be an interpolation made in after ages : we 
may furely ufe it, as expreffing our fentiments ; " There 
" are Three that bear record in heaven ; the Father, the 
" Word, and the Holy Ghoft', and thefe Three are One." 
Three Perfons, the mafculine being ufed ; one Being, or 
one Deity, (tinmen, %tm) the neuter being fubftituted. 
Now let any man in logical form prove, if he can, that 
thefe words involve a real contradiction : but till this is 
done, let none miftake confident afTertion for demon- 
ftration. 

I cannot but hope, that the preceding concife argu- 
ments have fully (hewn, that the facred writers fpoke as 
ftrong language, concerning the Perfonality and Deity 
of the Holy Spirit, as even the Nicene Fathers themfelves 
did : though they did not ufe fuch illuftrations, explana- 
tions, diit.i>;£Uons, or definitions, as the latter unhappily 
employed in the controverfy : nor do I fcruple to aver that 
the Deity of Chriil hath been fully proved in the feventh 
and eighth Effays. And if thefe two points have been 
eftabliihed on fcriptural authority ; all that can be urged 
againft the do£trine of the Trinity on other grounds only 
fuggefts thefe queftio-ns : Is the human intellect:, or the 
infinite underftanding of God, moil competent to deter- 
mine, on the incomprehenfibie myfteries of the divine 
Nature ? And (hail we abide by the language of infpira- 
tion, or give it up for that of human reafon ? What is 
faith ? Is it not a difpofition to fay. " let God be true, 
(i and every man a liar ?" For " the teftimony of God 
<{ is fure, making wife the fimple." If the Scriptures 
be inconteftabiy proved to be the word of God, by un- 
answerable external and internal evidences ; and a man 
fhall ftill prefume to fay that ' fo allow fuch a doctrine 
< as that of the Trinity to be contained in it, is enough 
' to impeach its divine authority :' it amounts only to this, 
that he is fo wife in his own eyes, fo leans to his own 
underftanding, and is fo fond of his own fentiments, that 



* 1 John, v. 7, 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. 199 

he is determined not to be convinced by any teflimony 
human or divine. 

In addition to the general argument for the doctrine 
in queftion above dated ; it may be proper to confider a 
few remarkable pafTages of Scripture, in which the Fa- 
ther the Son, and the Holy Ghoft are mentioned togeth- 
er, or jointly addreffed in the fame aft of worfhip. — 
When our Lord was baptifed, the Father, by a voice 
from heaven, declared him to be his beloved Son, and 
publickly fealed his appointment to the mediatorial office; 
of which he folemnly accepted, and on which he then 
entered : and the Holy Spirit, defcending vifibly, under 
the emblematic reprefentation of a dove, lighted upon 
him ; as through him to be communicated to all his true 
difciples. Thus the Three Perfons, in the facred Trinity, 
evidently acled according to the parts fuftained by them, 
in the great work of man's falvation. — But the appoint- 
ed form of Chriftian baptifm is far more concluflve ; 
" Baptizing them into the name" (not names,) " of the Fa» 
« ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft." By 
baptifm we declare our dependence and devotednefs to 
Him, in whofe name we are baptized ; and it certainly is 
one of the mofl folemn a&s of worfhip we can perform. 
Would it not then greatly tend to miflead us, if a mere 
creature, and an attribute or mode of operation, were joined 
with the One true God in this ordinance ? Upon the 
Trinitarian fyftem the form is extremely proper : but 
that man muft furely have very lax notions of the pecu- 
liar honour due to God which he will not give to anoth- 
er, who can think it confident with the do&rine of 
our opponents.— This form of baptifm fully warrants the 
ancient excellent doxology retained by our church, 
* Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
'Holy Ghoft ; as it was in the beginning, is now, and 
i ever (hall be, v/orld without end, Amen.' It is alfo 
worthy of our obfervation, that Anti-trinitarians in for- 
mer times attempted to improve our Lord's words, fay- 
ing, « In the name of the Father, and through the Son, 
' and by, or in, the Holy Ghoft ;' which joined with 
modern attempts to (hew the fcriptural form to be non- 
cffential to baptifm, conftitutes a full proof, that the ar- 



200 On the Personality and Deity Essay XIII. 

gu merit is of great force even in the opinion of our op- 
ponents. 

When our Lord fays*, « The Spirit of Truth,— (hall 
" glorify me: for he fhall receive of mine, and fhall (Lew 
" it unto you. All things that the Father hath arc 
M mmez therefore fetid I, that he fhall take of mine, 
« and fhall {hew it unto you " he evidently efta- 
blimes the doctrine of the Trimry. The perfonality, 
and confcquenriy the Deity* of the SpHt, has been 
proved fro tii many testimonies 3 if all things belonging 
to the Father belong to Chrift alfo, his Deity mult be 
allowed : and thus the three Perfons in the facred Tri- 
nity are hef b pointed out to our obfervation. 

The apottolic benedictionf," « The grace of the Lord 
" Jefus Chrift, and the love of God, and the "commu- 
« nion of the Floly Ghoft, be with you all, Arn^n ;" 
has a plain reference to the one name into which Chrif- 
tian3 are baptized : and it may remind us of the form of 
bleffing appointed in the law — « Speak unto Aaron and 
" unto his fons/faying, On this wife fhall ye blefs the 
« children of Ifrael, faying to them ; The Lord blefs 
U thee and keep thee; the Lord make his face mine upon 
" thee,and be gracious to thee: The Lord liftup his coun- 
ts tenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they fhall 
" put my name upon the children of Ifrael; and I will blefs 
< c them|." The threefold repetition of the name Jeho- 
vah, with the concluding fentence, " they mail put my 
'! name upon the children of Ifrael," is very remarkable ; 
and the whole accords to the adorations of the heavenly 
worfhippers, (i Holy, Holy, Holy ? is the Lord of hoft.s^." 
The benediction ufed by Paul was in reality a folemn 
act of worfhip, equally with the bleffing pronounced by 
the prieits. It was a prayer, in belialf of the Corinthi- 
ans, for all the blemngs of falvation ; and thefe he fought 
from the Lord Jefus, and from the Holy Spirit, as well 
as from God the Father. — The addrefs of the Apoftle 
John to the feven churches in Afia, in which he wifhes, 



* Juhn, xvi. 13....13. f 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 
| Numb. vi. 24....2G. § Is. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. 



Essay XIII. of the Holy Spirit. 201 

or ^rays for, grace and peace to them, from the eternal 
Father, from the feven Spirits before the throne, and 
from the Lord Jefus*, is precifely of the fame nature, 
an ! contains a conclufive argument in proof of our doc- 
trine. According teethe emblematic ftyle of the Reve- 
lation of John, the Holy Spirit, with reference to his 
manifold gifts and graces, and to the feven churches in 
Afia, is fpoken of as the feven Spirits before the throne : 
but we cannot doubt of the meaning ; nor can we ima- 
gine, that any created fpirits would have been thus joined 
with the eternal God in fuch an evident act of folemn 
adoration. 

I (hail clofe the prefent EfTay by again obferving, that 
the fubj 'Ct before u^ is of the greateft importance. Eith- 
er Trinitarians or Anti-trinitarians, are idolaters ; for 
they cannot both worfhip that God, who reveals himfelf 
to us in Scripture ; but one of them muft fubftitute an 
imaginary being in his place. It is not, therefore, a fub- 
ject to be decided by fallies of wit, oftentation of learn- 
ing, or attempting to render one another odious and ri- 
diculous. A fober, humble, teachable mind, difpofed to 
beii eve the teftimony of God, is above all things requi- 
(ire in fuch enquiries: this fhould be fought from God 
by fervent prayer \ and then the Scriptures muft be dai- 
ly and diligently examined with an obedient and reverend 
mind. . The writer of thefe remarks # was once an Anti- 
trinitarian ; and on the point cf leaving the Church of 
England, from objections to her doctrine and worfhip in 
this refpeEl But the ftudy of the Scriptures has totally 
changed his judgment ; and as he then neglected, or 
difliked,the other doctrines which he now values more 
than "life, and was a ftranger to vital experimental reli- 
gion : fo he cannot but perceive that they, who deny this 
doctrine, gradually give up other peculiarities of Chrif- 
tianity, till the name alone, or very little more, be left 
of it. — He muft therefore deem it, (like the key ftone of 
an arch) efTential to the fupport of evangelical piety ; and 
would conclude thefe observations on the Trinity, with 
the Apoftie's words, " This is the true God, and eternal 



* Rev. i. 4....6. 



202 On the Personality and Deity , EsV. Essay XIII. 

" life ; little children keep yourfelves from idols. A- 
« men." 

But while we deem the rejection of this doctrine a 
virtual renunciation of Chriftian baptifm, a^difTent from 
the apoftolical benediction, and a fufeftitution of another 
object of worfhip in the place of the God of the Bible ; 
and while we lame; t the rapid progrefs of this deftruc- 
tive herefy, which often proves a forerunner to prepare 
the way for a more avowed apoftacy : we muft alfo obferve, 
that it is almoft equally to be lamented, that fo few who 
profefs the doctrine, feem to underftand its real nature 
and tendency, or to experience its fanctifying efficacy up- 
on their hearts. Alas ! what will it avail any man to 
have maintained, or even triumphantly contended for, 
this fundamental truth, if he continue the devotee of am- 
bition, avarice, or any other viie affection ? Of what .ufe 
is it to fhew the diftinct offices of the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit, in the work of cur ialvation ; un- 
lefs we, as loft finners, depend on the everlafting love 
and free mercy of the Father ; on the merits and media- 
tion of the incarnate Son : and on the fanctifying grace 
of the Holy Spirit ? No outward adminiftration of bap- 
tifm can proht thofe, who are not made, by " the true 
" baptifm> y the fpiritual worfhippers and (ervants ot " the 
« Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Nor can the 
pronunciation of the Apofile's benediction fave any man, 
who does not partake of the bleffings pronounced in the 
inward experience of his own foul. 

Finally, whilft we dilregard the charge of bigotry, in 
refuting all religious intercourfe with Anti- iririitarians, 
left we fhould give a function to their herefy ; let us pro- 
teft againft all attempts to injure them in their temporal 
interefts. Every kindneis is due to them, as men, w hen 
they need it ; many of them, as goo members of iocie- 
ty, are entitled to civil refpect and commendation : and 
bv this conduct, we (hall beft filence the cenlures brought 
againft our principles as intolerant ; nd prove that they 
enlarge the heart with the molt difiuiive philanthropy. 



ESSAY XIV. 

On the Gifts and Influences of the Holy Spirit. 



J. [IE fubject, felected for the prefent Eflay, has oc- 
cafoned a variety of dangerous or deftruclive miftakes. 
While fome have advanced claims in this refpect, which 
feem at leaft to place them upon an equality with Pr-3- 
phets, Apolfdes, and infpired writers : others, (perceiv- 
ing the abfurdity or arrogance of fuch pretentions ; 
deeming themfelves wife, ftrong, or good, by their na- 
tive powers and exertions •, and having no experience to 
direct them in difcriminating between what is fcriptural 
and what anti-fcriptural,) have argued, that we neither 
want, nor are warranted to expect, any divine or fuper- 
natural influences ; that they were exclufively vouchsaf- 
ed to the Apoftles and primitive Chriflians ; and that 
all, now fpoken of the operations or affiftance of the Spi- 
rit, is mere enthufiafm and delufion. Thefe oppoflte ex- 
tremes have alfo admitted of intermediate errors and va- 
riations. Some contend, that there is no difcoverable 
diitinclion between divine influences and the actings of 
our own minds; and do not clearly admit of an excep- 
tion, even as to the diverfe effects produced by thefe dif- 
tinct caufes ; others fuppofe, that they are immediately 
diftingu^fhable by an inward and a kind of inftinclive 
confcioufnefs, (like that which aflured the Prophets that 
they were divinely infpired ;) and thus, whilft they feem 
to honour the Spirit, and will attempt nothing till, as 
they fay, they are moved by him, they covertly advance 
a claim to infallibility and perfection in thofe favoured 
feafons, or impute all their miftakes and follies to this 
facred Agent. — Nor is it uncommon for men to plead 
that they are influenced by the Holy Spirit, in order to 



204 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

cftablifh other rules of faith and pracf'ce than the writ- 
ten word of God ; to bring that, or fome parts of it, in- 
to a meafure of difc/edit j or even to fubftitute Some- 
thing wrought in them or by them, in the place of the 
rig:.teoufnefs and atoning blood of the Saviour, whom 
the Spirit is lent to glorify among men. — In fhort, much 
euthuiiaSm and Spiritual pride, and many fatal or dis- 
graceful delufions have, on the one hand, arifen from 
mif-apprehenfions of this Subject ; and, on the other, 
multitudes have taken occafion from theSe incidental 
ev*iis, to treat the whole with profane contempt and deri- 
sion. 

But a careful attention to the Scriptures, and to the 
ends for which the Holy Spirit was promifed, may ena- 
ble us properly to difcriminate in this matter ; and to 
fhew in what fenfe, and for what purpofes, we ought 
to expect, and depend on, the influences of the Spirit % 
and which of his gifts and operations were peculiar to the 
primitive times, or to extraordinary occafions. I fhall 
therefore, at preSent offer fome thoughts on the miracu- 
lous gifts and powers, imparted by the Holy Ghofl ; — on 
thole ordinary endowments, 'which unmfpired men may rea- 
fonably expeel to receive from him : — on his common influ- 
ences upon the minds of many unconverted perfons ; — arid 
on the fpecial nature of that fanElifying work, by which 
" the vtiTels of mercy are afore prepared unto glory*." 

If we accurately mark the language of the Scriptures, 
we ihail find that the Holy Spirit is fpoken of, as the Au- 
thor and Giver of all thofe miraculous and Supernatural 
powers, with which any of the human race were ever en- 
dued. — Not only did " holy men of God fpeak as they 
" were moved by the Holy Ghoftf ;" not only did A- 
pofHes, Evangelifts, and primitive believers receive the 
Holy Ghoft, enabling them to caft out devils, heal the 
fick, raife the dead, fpeak in languages before unknown, 
or interpret the difcourfes of others : but even Chrift 
himfelf was " anointed by the Holy Gho{t," to work his 
beneficent miracles^. He caft out devils " by the Spirit 



* Rom. ix. 24. f 2 Pet. i. 21. 

| 2 Acts, 33. 



Essay XIV. of the Holy Spirit. 205 

« of God # i'* " who was not given to Him by mea- 
" furcf :" and « through the Holy Ghoft he gave com- 
*' mandments to his Apoftles|." Indeed the promifcs 
made to him in the Old Teftament tfpecially relate to 
this ; and his very title of the Mejfiah> the thrift, the 
Anointed of the Lord was derived from it§. Now we 
cannot fatisfa&orily account for thefe expreffions •, or re- 
concile them with our Lord's conduct, in fpeaking and 
acting as in his own name, or by his own authority and 
power ; unlefs we advert to the diitinction between his 
divine and human nature, and his perfonal and mediate- 
rial dignity ; and remember, that, in refptct to his divine 
nature, he is One with the Father, and with the Holy 
Spirit, in ;>11 the eflence, perfections, and operations of 
the Godhead. We muft therefore confider the Holy 
Spirit as the great Agent, according to the economy of 
the everlafting covenant in the infpiration of the Scrip- 
tures; in the performance of all thefe miracles, by 
which the mefiengers of God authenticated their doc- 
trine ; and in the revelation of thofe future events, which, 
being interwoven with every part of the facred volume, 
and receiving their accomplimment from age to age, con- 
firm the divine original of the whole to every attentive; 
and impartial enquirer. 

Such difcoveries of the truth and will of God had 
been made from the beginning : but they became more 
particular and copious, when Ifrael was brought out of 
Egypt, and the law was given by Moies. The Prophets 
and other fervants of God, who from time to time were 
raifed up to call the attention of Ifrael to his law and 
promifes, or to effect extraordinary deliverances for the 
nation, were endued with miraculous powers by the fame 
Spirit. At the coming of Chrift, Mary, Elizabeth, Za- 
charias, Simeon, and Anna, fpake of Him by the Spirit ; 
and his Apottles and feventy difciples partook of thefe 
extraordinary gifts and miraculous powers, even before 
our Lord's crucifixion. Yet the out-pouring of the Spirit^ 
at and after the day of Pentecott, was fo vaftly fuperior, 



* Matt. xii. -28. f John, iii. 34. J Acts, i. 2. 
§ Ps. xlv. 7. k. xi. 2, 3. xlii. 1. lix. 21. Ixi U 



S2 



206 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

in energy, extent, and duration, that John, who had wit- 
nefled and experienced both, fays, in recording the dif- 
courfes of Chrift, « This he fpake of the Spirit— for the 
" Holy Ghoft was not yet given, becaufe that Jefus was 
« not yet glorified* ;" Whatever had preceded that 
great event, was an earneft of the difpenfation of the 
Spirit j yet it did not belong to it, nor was worthy to 
be compared with it. But when Jefus was rifen and 
afcended on high, thefe gifts were fhowered down on 
men in rich abundance, to confirm the teftimony of the 
Apoftles to his refurrec~tion,' and to qualify them and 
their fellow workers to fpread the gofpel through the 
nations : and being communicated by the laying on of 
the Apoftles hands, the number of witneffes and inftru- 
ments was continually multiplied, and provifion was made 
for the rapid fpread of their falutary doctrine. 

The evident defign and ufe of thefe extraordinary 
operations of the Spirit was, to roufe the attention of a 
carelefs world to thefpiritual doctrines of the Gofpel ; to 
counterbalance men's prejudices in favour of their old 
traditions, and againft religious innovations ; and to put 
honour on thofe, who were commiffioned to propagate 
Chriftianity in the midft of contempt and perfecutionf. 
The gift of tongues, efpecially feems to have been indif- 
penfably neceffary, to enable the firft preachers of the 
gofpel to addrefs men of different nations in a fuitable 
manner : and the difficulty of learning the languages of 
heathen nations forms, at this day, one grand impedi- 
ment to the promulgation of our holy religion. Thefe 
powers feem to have continued with the church, in fome 
meafure, during the three firft centuries, or perhaps ra- 
ther longer •, but to have decreafed in proportion as 
Chriftianity obtained eftablifhment in the world. — At 
length, when " the only wife God our faviour" faw, that 
occafional prejudices had fufficiently fubfided, and ex- 
traordinary obftacles were in a great degree removed ; 
and that the truth had only to contend with thofe lufts 
of man's fallen nature, and thofe efforts of the powers of 



* John, vii. 29. f Mat. xxviii. 18....V0. Mark, xvi. 15....I8. 



Essay -XIV. of the Holy Spirit. ' 207 

darknefs, which are common to every age and place : 
He was pleafed to withdraw thefe extraordinary gifts and 
operations, and to carry on his work, by means of the 
written word, the fultilment of prophecies, and other- 
abiding evidences of the truth, and the ordinary influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit. — But He hath not exprei'sly de- 
clared, that he will on no future occafion endue his fer- 
vants with miraculous powers, or confer on them the Spi- 
rit of prophecy. We may, however, be allured that 
fuch powers will never be imparted, to enable men to 
fupport any thing materially different from that com- 
plete revelation which we now poflTefs : and for thirteen 
hundred years at leaft, all pretences to miracles or pro- 
phecy have,- in one way or other, tended to fubvert the 
doctrine contained in the New Teftament ; and have 
juftly been deemed impoiTures> or fatanical delufions and 
marks of Antichrift. — In this refpeEk therefore, the prom- 
ife of the Spirit exclufively related to the primitive 
times ; or at leaft, all pretenfions at prefent to new reve- 
lations, predictions, miracles, or infallibility, are enthufiaf- 
tic, arrogant, and unwarranted. 

The Scriptures are fuily authenticated as a complete 
rule of faith and practice j Chriftianity has all the advan- 
tages, which it can pofTefs in a world that " lieth in the 
" wicked one ;" there is no rival fyftem, pretending to 
be a divine revelation, that can at all ftand in competition 
with it ; minifters may obtain needful qualifications, by 
the ordinary bk-flirg of God on their diligent ftudies ; 
the eilabliihment, which our religion has had for fo ma- 
ny ages, and through fo many nations, gives it a fort of 
claim by prefcription to the attention of mankind , and 
the Lord fees ihefe things to be fufficient for the accom- 
pldhment of his purpofes, in the prefent ftate of human 
affairs. 

We may further obferve, that miraculous and prophet- 
ical powers, imparted by the Holy Spirit, had no insepar- 
able connection with perf nal fanEtity ; and have often 
been beftowed on very wicked men. Balaam who " lov- 
" ed the wages of unrighteoufnefs," and perifhed among 
the enemies of God, might neverthelefs have faid with 
David, « The Spirit of the Lord fpake by me, and his 

. / 



208 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

" word was in my tongue*." Judas was doubtlefs en- 
dued with the power of calling out devils, and working 
miracles, as well as the other Apoftles ; and Chrift 
hath allured us, that " many will fay unto him in that 
u day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophelied in thy name, 
*' and in thy name have caft out devils, and in thy 
M name done many wonderful works: and then will he 
" profefs unto them i" never knew you, Depart from me, 
« ye that work iniquityf ." — Thefe gifts were alio liable 
to be abufed by man's ambition and corrupt paffions ; 
and, however ufeful to others, were injurious, or even 
fatal, to the pofT-rTor, if he were not difpofed and en- 
abled by the fan£r.ifying influences of the Holy opirit> 
to ufe them in humility, zeal, and love|. 

But there are alfo other gifts, derived from the fame 
Spirit, which are not directly of a fantlifying nature. It 
is obfervable, that John the Baptift, who was fi fil- 
** led with the Holy Ghoft from his mother's womb," 
wrought no miracles : yet our Lord declared that " he 
*' was more than a prophet ;" and it is evident, that he 
was more illuminated in the nature of Chrift's redemp- 
tion and kingdom, than any of the Apoftles were, 
previouily to the defcent of the Holy Spirit on the day 
of Pentecoft. His divine illumination therefore, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures of. the prophets ; and his min- 
ifterial endowments, though not miraculous, were the 
gifts of the Holy Ghoft. 

The Apoftles and difciples, on the day of Pentecoft, 
were not only endued with miraculous powers, but 
greatly advanced in their knowledge of the gofpel, 
delivered from their prejudices and miftakes, raifed 
above the fear of men, and enabled to fpeak with 
promptitude, facility, and propriety, far beyond what 
was natural to them, or what they could have acquired 
by habit or ftudy. That wonderful change, which in 
thefe refpe&s took place in them, ought to be afcribed 
entirely to the agency of the promifed Spirit§ ; and 
we may hence conclude, that religious knowledge, pru- 



* Numb, xxiii. 5, 16. xxiv. 2. 16...24. 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. 
| iViatt. vii. 22, 23. 1 Cor. xiii. 1...3. J 1 Cor. xii. xiv. 
§ John, xiv. 26. xvi. 12, 13. 



Essay XIV. of the Holy Spirit. 209 

dence, fortitude, utterance, and other endowments 
for the facred miniitry, or for any ufeful fervice in the" 
church, are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Diligence indeed 
in the ufe of proper means is man's duty : yet the dili- 
gence itfelf, and much more the fuccefs of it, fhould 
be acknowledged as the gift of the Spirit of Chrift. 
On him we ought entirely to depend for all needful 
qualifications for the fervices allotted us : and whilft we 
take to ourfelves the blame of every miftake, defe£t, 
and evil, that mixes with our endeavours ; the whole 
glory of all that is true, wife, or ufeful, fhould be 
afcribed to this divine Agent. — Surely this may be 
done without enthufiafm or arrogance ! yea, the Apof- 
tle hath taught us to do it in his difcourfe on fpiritual 
gifts •, while he enumerates nvifaom knowledge., and the 
faculty of /peaking to tdification, exhortatijn, and c mfort^ 
among the operations of the Spirit ; and thefe are 
evidently as much wanted at prefent, as they were in 
the primitive tim^s* : Need we then wonder, that the 
■official miniftration of numbers at prefent is fo devoid 
of pathos, energy, and fcrlptural wifdom ; when we 
learn, that all dependence on the Holy Spirit in prepar- 
ing for the miniitry or the pulpit, is disclaimed as en- 
thufiafm and folly ? For if " no man can fay that Jefus 
" is the Lord," or do any thing effectual to promote 
the gofpel, " but by the Holy Ghoft ;" and if men, 
pretending to be teachers, affront this divine Agent, by 
rejecting and vilifying his proffered afftftance ; the con- 
fequence muft be, that they will be left to deny of 
difgrace the doctrine of the gofpel, inftead of faithful- 
ly preaching it, and living under its facred influence. 
Yet thefe gifts alfo may be pofTefTed and exercifed by 
thofe who are flrangers to the fan&ifying work of the 
Holy Spirit. Men may be enabled by the Spirit to 
attain knowledge in the myfteries of the gofpel, and 
readinefs in fpeaking or writing about them, whilft 
they remain ungodly •, even as others have pofTefTed 
miraculous or prophetical gifts, whilft they continued 
the flaves of avarice or luft. Thus perfons often are 



* 1 Cor, xii. r...U. xiv. 3. 



210 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

raifed up, and endued with eminent talents, whofe 
preaching may excite great attention and even occafiori* 
ally do much good ; or whofe writings illuminate the 
church, and exceedingly tend to elucidate the truth, 
and to filence the objections of its enemies, and yet 
thefe very men are themfclves chfl-aways ; " becaufe 
" they received not the love of the truth/' neither 
obeyed it, but " obeyed unrighteoufnefs." Yet thefe 
fpiritual gifts are as needful at prefent as in old times : 
unlefs it can be believed, that men are now fo wife 
and good, and that Chriftianity is fo congenial to our 
nature, and fo fully understood and^practifed \ that we 
are fully competent, without any divine aliiftance, to 
maintain the caufe of it in the world. 

It has likewife been generally allowed by orthodox 
divines, that there are other influences of the Spirit on 
the mind) ivhich do not always terminate in fancrif cation. 
To '< refift the Holy Ghoft" feems to mean fomething 
more, than merely to reject the word of infpiration : 
and to " quench the Spirit," is not exclufively the fin 
of believers, when on fome occanons they ftifle his 
holy fuggeftions. He ftrives with, and powerfully ftirs 
up, the minds of many who are not born again : new 
principles are not implanted, but natural powers are 
excited ; confeience is influenced in part to perform its 
office, notwithstanding the oppofition of the carnal 
heart; and convincing views are given of many impor- 
tant truths. The Spirit concurs with an addrefs to one 
man's far, and even a Felix trembles before a prifon- 
er in chains : another's hopes are addreffed, and " he 
" hears gladly, and does many things," though he 
will not divorce Herodias : or convincing arguments are 
applied with energy to an intelligent worldling, and he 
" is almoft perfuaded to be a Chriltian." Such char- 
acters often take up a profeffion of the gofpel, and 
continue for a time, or even perfift. to the end, in an 
unfruitful form of godlinefs : and men of this defenp- 
tion who have been eminent for their talents, when 
the Spirit has finally ceafed to ftrive with them, have 
been the principal herefiarchs in every age •, while the 
bulk of heretical focieties have been conftituted of in- 
ferior perfons of the fame ftamp. Yet as far as truth 



Essay XIV. of the Holy Spirit. 21 1 

produces it's proper effect, though it be at length borne 
down by human depravity and temptation, it ought to 
be afcribed to the Spirit ; and- in this fenfe, as well 
as in refpe£t of miraculous powers, men have been 
partakers of the Holy Ghoft, and have yet fallen away 
beyond the poffibility of beiag renewed unto repent- 
ance*. On the other hand, however, thefe drivings 
are often preparatory to thofe " things, which accom- 
pany falvation ;" nor can we always exactly diftinguifh 
between them, except by the effecl: i for they referable 
two fmall feeds, which are fo much alike, though of 
diftinel fpecies, that our defective organs of fight can- 
not difcern any difference ; till having been fown, they 
fpring up and produce their refpe£tive plants, and then 
they are eafily and perfectly known from each other. 

The obfervations made on Regeneration f muff be 
referred to, as introducing what I fhall here add in 
refpe£fc to the fanclifpng work of the Holy Spirit in the 
hearts of believers. We may therefore obferve, that 
the converfion of three thouiand perfons on the day of 
Pentecoft, the rapid fpread of the gofpel which follow- 
ed, and the holinefs and joy of the primitive Chriftians, 
were as much the effecl: of that " out-pouring of the 
" Spirit" as the miraculous gifts conferred on the Apof- 
tles : and the fame change, at any time wrought in 
inen"s characters and conduct by the gofpel, mull uni- 
formly be afcribed to the fame caufe. 

But we fhall be able to mark more precifely the na- 
ture of thefe fanclifying influences of the Spirit, by 
adverting to the language of Scripture on that fubje£t. 
• —The word Comforter, by which our Lord diftki- 
guifhes this .divine Agent, may alfo fignify an Advocate > 
or an Admonifhir \ and this title implies, that it is the 
office of the Holy Spirit to plead the caufe of God in 
our hearts, to excite and animate us to all holy duties, 
and to communicate to us all holy confolations. Water 
which purifies, refrefhes, and fructifies all nature \ 
and fire, which illuminates, penetrates, melts, fofttns, 
and confumes whatever cannot be, as it were, changed 



* nto. vi. 4...6. x, 29. f Esst 



212 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

into its own likenefs, are the emblems of that Spirit 
with which Chrift baptizes his true difciples.- — *« When 
"he is come," u he will reprave" or convince — " tft 
(< fin, of righteoufnefs, and of judgment." This di- 
vine light fo difcovers to men their ob Rations to God, 
and the demands of his perfect law, that they are deep- 
ly convicted of guilt, even in fuch things as before 
did not burden their confeiences ; efpeciaily they foon 
perceive their ftate of condemnation as unbelievers, and 
the atrocious evil of not receiving. Chrift by faith. They 
are thus convinced of the jujiice of God in his dealings, 
with finners, and underftand his righteoufnefs in justify- 
ing believers j and fo are brought to realize habitually 
a judgment to come, as the whole tenor of revelation 
manifefts to them, that the prince of this world and all 
his fubjects lie under certain condemnation. Thefe con- 
victions render the confeience ever after proportionally 
tender and fufceptible ; and the heart penitent, contrite, 
and watchful agair.ft all occafions and appearances of 
evil, difpofed to refill temptation, and ftrive againfl fin 
as the object of dread and abhorrence, to iove purity, 
and to long for holinefs ; and to form the temper pa- 
tient* meek, forgiving, and companionate to the vileft 
and moft profperous of ungodly men. 

When the Holy Spirit has thus prepared the hearts 
of finners, (as he did thofe of the Jews on the day of 
Pentecoft* ,) " He glorifies Chrift ; for he receives of 
" the things of Chrift, and fhews them unto themf:" By 
his illuminating energy, by divefting the mind of proud 
and carnal prejudices, and by bringing the truths of 
Scripture to their remembrance, He difcovers to them 
the glory and excellence of Emmanuel's Perfon. his 
infinite compafTion and condefcenfion, the perfection of 
his righteoufnefs, the precioufnefs of his blood, the 
prevalence of his intercefiion, and the fuitablenefs of 
his whole falvation. In proportion, therefore, as the 
firmer is abafed and humb'ed in his own eyes, and is 
made to abhor all fin, Chrift becomes precious in his 
eftinution j the Comforter exalts the Saviour in his 



Acts, ii. 37, f JL-hnj xvi. 7...15. 



Essay XIV. of the Holy Spirit, 213 

heart ; he perceives Him to be " altogether lovely," 
« the Pearl of great price," and that all things are but 
lofs in companion of "Him. Now he begins to difcern 
fomething of his unfearchable riches, his unfathomed 
love, his inexhauftible fulnefs : he finds that all he can 
want is comprifed in a relation to Chrift and an intereft 
in him, and in union and communion with him. His 
liberty, honour, pleafure, and felicity confift in having 
fuch a Saviour, Brother, and Friend ; and thofe drains 
of admiring love, defire, gratitude, and praife, which 
once appeared to him too rapturous, or even enthu- 
fiaflic, become the genuine language of his moft 
lively hours. At the fame time he knows that they 
are all far beneath his real excellency and glory : and 
thus the love of Chrift to him, and his reciprocal love 
to Chrift, conftrain him to live to his glory, to copy 
his example, and obey his precepts. — Here again we 
may very properly obferve, that in proportion as the 
doctrine of the Spirit is exploded, or overlooked, the 
Perfon and work of Chrift are generally difhonoured : 
and whilft men plume themfelves on rational religion, 
they evidence, and muft frequently be confeious, that 
the language of Scripture does not fuit their views $ 
but far better accords to thofe of the enthufiafts, whom 
they fo liberally vilify and cordially defpife. Is it not 
then evident, that the reafon, why Chrift is no more 
glorified m the vifible church, is {imply this •, men do 
not expeel:, depend on, or feek for, the influences of 
the Holy Spirit in this refpeel ; and for that reafon are 
left to exalt themfelves, or philofophy, or fome favour- 
ite author, and to degrade the Light of the World and 
the Life of men ? 

Several prayers of Paul for his converts had refpeel, 
not to miraculous gifts, but to fuch things, as are equal- 
ly needful in every age. He " defired that the God of 
u our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father of glory, might 
" give unto them the Spirit of wifdom and revelation, 
« in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of their under- 
" (landing being enlightened, that they might know 
" what is the hope of his calling-, and what the riches 
" of his inheritance in the faints : and what is the ex- 
<( ceeding greatnefs of his power towards them that be- 

T 



214 On the Gifts and Influences Essay XIV. 

" lieve :" that " they might be ftrengthened with might 
"by his Spirit in the inner man, that Chrift might 
<{ dwell in their hearts by faith ; that being rooted and 
«* grounded in love, they might — know the love of 
tl Chrift which palTeth knowledge :" that they might be 
filled "with the knowledge of the Lord's will, in all 
" wifdom and fpiritual underftanding ; that they might 
tc walk worthy of the Lord unto all- pleaiing, being 
" fruitful in every good work, and inoreafmg in the 
" knowledge of God : ftrengthened with all might, ac- 
" cording to his glorious power, unto all patience and 
" long-fuffering with joyfulnefs*." Now is it not ne- 
ceiTary, that all Chriftians fhould thus know God, un- 
derftand the gofpel and its privileges, and be inwardly 
ftrengthened in love and obedience to the Lord Jefus ? 
Surely thefe are effentials to real Chriftianity in every 
age: and the .ftate of the profeffmg church . of Chrift, 
amidft all modern improvements, fhews that they can no 
more be produced without the influences of the Spirit ; 
than fkill in agriculture can enfure a crop of corn, with- 
out the influences of the fun and rain. — The Apoftle 
fays, that " the love of God is fried abroad, in the heart 
" by the Holy Ghoft, who is given unto us .:" and 
whether we underftand this of our knowledge of God's 
love to us, or of our exercife of love to him ; it is mani- 
feft, that we cannot attain to it, except by the influences 
of the Spirit, preparing and pervading all -the faculties 
of our foulsf. .Indeed all fervent affections towards 
God, or joy in him, are commonly deemed enthufiafm, 
by thofe who deny thefe doctrines ; and a decent con- 
duct, with a form of godlinefs, conftitutes the fum to- 
tal of improved Christianity. 

The fame Apoftle prays that the Romans " may 
'" abound in hope through the power of the Holy 
«< Ghoftij::" Hope is one of thofe graces, which -abides- 
in the church§ : and if this fprings from, and abounds 
through, the power of the Spirit j we muft conclude, 
that all who are deftitute of his influences, are either 



* Lph. i. 17....19. iii. 16....21. 1 Cor. ii. 12. 2 C r. iv. 3....6. 
Cc -.]. 1. 9....22. f ilum* Y« 5. £ Ron. xv, .3. 

$ 1 Cor. xui. 13. 



Es-vy XIV. of the Holy Spirit. 215 

" without hope," or buoyed up in prefumptucus con- 
gee. According to Peter, the believer's obedience 
refttles from *' the fan (SI in cation of the Spirit ;" And he 
fays, " Seeing ye have purified your fouls, in obeying the 
* truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the 
brethren*.'" Surely thefe are duties of Chriftianity pe- 
culiar to no age or place ! and the aihftance of the Spirit 
mud be as 'needful to the performance of them at pre- 
fent, as when infpired Apoftles were the teachers of the 
church. " The kingddm of God is — in righteoufnefs, 
.** peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft\ :" how then can we 
rejoice in the Lord ahvays without his bleffed influences.? 

But this fubject is mod copioufly difcufled in the eig}\tli 
of Romans, which brevity forbids me to enlarge upon. 
Let it fuffice in general to obferve, that the Apoftle af- 
cribes the believer's " deliverance from the law of fm 
" and death," to " the Spirit of life in Chrilt jefus^: ;" 
and derives the (l fpiritual mind, which is life and 
" peace," from the fame fource. They, in whom the 
" Spirit of God dwells," are " not in the flefh but in 
"the fpirit ;" but " if any man have not the Spirit of 
" Chrilt, he is none of his." They, who " through the 
" Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, fhall live :" they 
**. that are led," or willingly guided and influenced by 
the Spirit " are the children of God." He dwells in 
them, not as a « fpirit of bondage," to induce them to 
obey God from fervile motives ; but " as a Spirit of 
" adoption, by whom they cry, Abba, Father :" and 
thus producing all filial difpofitions and affections in then- 
hearts, " he witneffes with their fpirits, that they are 
•« the children and heirs of God." They have, there- 
fore, " the firft fruits of the Spirit ; " called alfo the 
" fed of the Spirit" being the renewal of the divine 
image on their fouls ; and the " earneft of the Spirit" 
or the beginning and fure pledge of heavenly felicity^. 
But, who can deny that thefe things are efTential to 
genuine chriftianity, at all times, and in all places ? 

Finally, we are directed " to pray in" or by " the 
"Holy Ghoft," who "alfo helpeth our infirmities j" 



* 1 Pet. i. 2, 22. f Rom. xiv. 17. i 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18. 
§ 2 Cor. iw 22. Eph. i, 13, 14, iv. 30. 



216 On the Gifts and Influences &c. Essay XIV. 

and whatever words we ufe, his influences alone can 
render our worfhip fpiritual. Our holy tempers, affec- 
tions, and actions are called " the fruits of the Spirit* f 
to diftinguifh them from mere moral conduct, on world- 
ly or legal principles. We are faid, to " live in the 
«« Spirit," and " to walk in the Spirit," and to " be 
" filled with the Spirit :" and all our heavenly wifdom, 
knowledge, ftrength, holinefs, joy ; all things relative 
to our repentance, faith, hope, love, worfhip, obedi- 
ence, meetnefs for heaven, and foretaftes of it, are con- 
ftantly afcribed to his influences ; nor can we efcape fa- 
tal delufions, refill temptations, overcome the world, or 
glorify God ; except as we are taught, fari£tified, 
ilrergthened, and comforted by the Holy Spirit, who 
dwells in all believers " as a well of water fpringing up 
" unto everlafting life." 

We need not then wonder at the low ebb to which vital 
chriftianity is fallen ; when we confider how many no- 
minal Chriiiians utterly difclaim all dependence on the 
Spirit as enthufiafm : and how greatly this part of the 
gofpel is overlooked by numbers, who are zealous for 
other doctrines of it ! The fubjecl:, therefore, fuggefts 
to us the vail importance of owning the divine Perfon 
and whole work of the Spirit, in all our fervices ; of 
praying for that we may pray by the Spiritf ; of apply- 
ing to and depending on him in all things ; of cautioully 
diiiinguifhirig his genuine influences from every coun- 
terfeit, by fcriptural rules \ of avoiding thofe worldly 
cares, and that indolence which " quench," and all 
thole evil tempers which " grieve the Spirit of God ;?t 
and of giving the glory of all the good wrought in, or 
by us, to him as its original Source and Author. Thus, 
depending on the Mercy of the Father, the Atonement 
of the Son, and the Grace of the Spirit; we mall be 
prepared to give glory to the Triune God and Saviour, 
both now and for evermore. 



* Gal. v. 22, 23. Eph. v. 9. f Luke. xi. 13. 



ESSAY XV. 

On the Uses of the Moral Law, in subserviency tg 
the Gospel of Christ* 



W HEN we have duly confidered our fituation as 
fallen creatures, and thofe things that relate to our re- 
covery by the mercy of the Father, the redemption and 
mediation of the Son, and the fan£Hfication of the Holy 
Spirit ; we muft be convinced that " we are faved by 
«« grace, through faith ; and that not of ourfelves, it is 
" the gift of God : not of works, left- any man mould 
K boaft* :" and under this conviction it is natural for us 
to enquire, " wherefore then ferveth the iawf ?" The 
Apoitle indeed introduces this queftion, as the objection 
of a Judaizing teacher to the doctrines of grace : but in 
the prefent endeavour to ftate the ufes of the law as fub- 
Jervientto the go/pel, it is neceflary to premife, that neith- 
er the ritual law, nor the legal dlfpenfation^ is meant: 
the former typified, and the latter introduced, the clear 
revelation of the gofpel \ and they were both fuperfed- 
ed and antiquated by the coming of Chriit, The moral 
law alone is intended, which was originally written in 
the heart of man, as created in the image of God •, was 
afterwards delivered with awful folemnity from Mount 
Sanai, in ten commandments ; is elfe where fummed up, 
in the two great commandments of loving God with all 
our hearts, and our neighbour as ourfelves ; and is ex- 
plained and enlarged upon in a great variety of particu- 
lar precepts, throughout the whole Scripture. This 
law, befides what it more directly enjoins, implicitly re- 



* Eph. ii, 3....10. t Gal. iii. 19. 

T 2 



218 On the Uses of the Moral Law, Essay XV- 

quires us to love, admire, and adore every difcovery 
that God fhall,pleafe at any time to make to us of his 
glorious perfections j cordially to believe every truth 
he mail reveal and authenticate ; and willingly to obey 
every pofitive appointment which he fhall at any time 
be pleased to inititute*. 

This law is immutable in its own nature : for it could 
not be abrogated, or altered, without an apparent intima- 
tion that God was not fo glorious, lovely, and excel- 
lent ; or fo worthy of all poflible honour, admiration, 
gratitude, credit, adoration, fubmiiTion, 'and obedience* 
as the law had reprefented him to be *, or without fiem- 
ing to allow, that man had at length ceafed to be under 
thofe obligations to God, or to ftand in thofe relations 
to him and to his neighbour, from which the require- 
ments of the law at firft refulted. The moral law, I 
fay, could not be changed, in any effential point : unlefs 
we could ceafe to be under infinite obligations to our 
great Creator ; unlefs He could allow us in fome degree 
to be alienated from him, and defpifers of him ; or to 
love worldly objects, and our own temporal advantage 
orpleafure, more than his infinite excellency, and to 
prefer them to his glory, and the enjoyment of his 
favour : unlefs he could allow us to be ungrateful for his 
benefits, to difcredit his veracity, to difpute his author- 
ity, to rejecl: the appointments of his wifdom ; and to 
injure, negle£t, corrupt, or hate one another, to the 
confufion and ruin of his fair creation. Such abfurd 
and dreadful confequences may unanfwerably be deduc- 
ed, from the fuppofition of the moral /aw of God being 
repealed or altered : and they are the bane of all Anti- 
nomianifm ; and of every fyftem formed on the abfurd 
notion of a new and milder law promulgated by Jefus 
Chrift, however ingenioufly it may be arranged, or 
however fuch fchemes may be diverfified. The Lord 
may, confiftently with the immutable perfections of his 
nature, and the righteoufnefs of his government, reveal 
truths before unknown : he may abrogate pofitive 
inftitutions, or appoint others : he may arrange various 
circumftances relative to the law in a new manner, ac» 

* Essay iv.- 



Essay XV. in Subserviency to the Gospel. » 219 

cording to the different fitup^ions in which rational 
agents are placed : but the love of God with all the 
powers of the foul, and the equal love of each other, 
mult continue the indifpenfable duty of all reasonable 
creatures, however circumftanced, through all the ages 
of eternity. 

This law is the foundation of the covenant of works ; 
and it is the wifdom of every holy creature in a ftate of 
probation to feek jujlijication by obeying it : but for 
fallen men who are continually tranfgreffing, to wade 
their labour in vainly attempting to juftify themfelves 
before God by their own obedience, is abfurd and arro- 
gant in the greateft conceivable degree. This attempt 
is generally called felf-righieoufnefs ; and all the preach- 
ers of Chriftianity are bound moil decidedly to warn 
men againft. it, as a fatal rock on which multitudes are 
continually perifhing. 

But what purpofes then does the moral law anfwer, 
under a difpenfation of mercy, and in fubferviency to 
the doctrines and the covenant of grace ? And what ufe 
fhould the minifters of the New Teftament make of it ? 
The following ftatement may perhaps Contain a fufficient 
reply to thefe queftions •, and likewife make way for 
fome obfervations on the bad effects which follow from 
ignorance, inattention, or confufed apprehenfions ref- 
pecling the moral law, in the minifters and profefTors 
of the gofpel. 

I. The Apoftle fays, " I, through the law, am dead 
« to the law, that I might live unto God* •," He doubt- 
lefs meant, by being dead to the law, that he had entirely 
given up all hope and every thought of justification by 
the law, or of obtaining eternal life as the reward of his 
own obedience : and, having fled to Chrift for j unifica- 
tion, he was alfo delivered from fear of final condemna- 
tion by it. He had therefore no more to hope or fear 
from the law, than a man after his death hath to hope 
or fear from his friends or enemies. When he was a 
proud Pharifee, "he was alive without the law; but 
" when the commandment came, fin revived, and he 



* Gal. iu 19. 



220 On the Uses of the Moral Law, Essay XV, 

" died :" Every impartial reader muft fee, that the 
Apoftle in this remarkable paffage fpoke exclufively of* 
the moral law, which he declared to be holy, jujl, goody 
and fpi ritual; to which he " confented that it w as good" 
even while he failed of anfwering its ftri£t demand ; in 
"which he " delighted after the inward man •" which he 
" ferved with his mind*," or with the decided prefer- 
ence of his judgment, and the habitual purpofe of his 
heart. When the firmer underftands the extenfive and 
fpiritual demands and awful denunciations of the divine 
law, his hope of being juftified according to it muft ex- 
pire : for he perceives that it requires a perfectly holy 
heart, and a perfectly holy life ; that it refpe£ts every 
imagination, intention, affection, difpoiition, motive, 
word, and work ; that it demands abfolute, uninterrupt- 
ed, and perfect obedience, from the nrft dawn of reafon 
to the moment of death ; and that it denounces an awful 
curfe on " every one who continueth not in all things, 
" written in its precepts, to do them," But, unlefs the 
goodnefs or excellency of the law be alfo difcerned-, he will 
not be brought to genuine felf-abafement. A man may 
be clearly convicted of high treafon, according to the let- 
ter of the ftatute : but if he think the ftatute itfelf 
iniquitous, he will perfift in juftifyinghis conduct *, and 
his fullen enmity to the prince, the government, and 
his judges, will probably increafe in proportion, as he 
fees the execution of the fentence denounced againfl 
him to be inevitable. — If men only confider the ftri£t- 
nefs of the precept, and the feverity of the fanclion, of 
the divine law ; hard thoughts of God will be excited* 
they will deem themfelves juftified in defponding inactiv- 
ity, or they will take refuge in antinomianifm or infidel- 
ity. But when every precept is undeniably fhewn to be 
*f holy, jufl, and good," requiring nothing but what is 
reafonable, equitable, and beneficial ' : the views and con- 
victions thus excited ftrike at the root of man's felf-ad- 
miration j the (inner is con (trained by them to take part 
with God againft himfelf, and can no longer withhold 
his approbation from the law, even whilft he knows 

* Rom. vii. 7....25, 



Essay XV. in Subserviency to the Gospel. 221 

himfelf liable to be condemned by it. For the more 
clearly the excellency of the precept is perceived, the 
more evidently do the odioufnefs, unreafonablenefs, and 
defert of fin appear. 

The law thouki therefore be very fully ftated, explain- 
ed, and applied to the confeiences of men, for thefe pur- 
pofes : for this conftitutes the grand means, which the 
Lord blefTes, to fhew finners, in what the divine image 
confided, after which Adam was at firft created ; — and 
what they ought to have been, and to have doney during 
the whole of their paft lives ; — and to convince them, 
that their fins have been exceedingly numerous and hein- 
ous, in thought, word, and deed, by « leaving undone 

* what they ought to have done, and doing what they 

* ought not to have done :' — that their prefent difpofi- 
tions, and fuppofed duties, are vile, and unworthy of 
God's acceptance, yea, deferving of his wrath and ab- 
horrence ; — and in ihort, that their cafe is hopelefs and 
helplefs, if they be left to themfelves under the old cove- 
nant, and dealt with according to the merit and demerit 
of their works. In this w?>y the pride of men's hearts is 
abafed, their mouths are {topped, their falfe and legal 
confidence is deftroyed, and they are prepared by the 
knowledge of their fins, and by deep humiliation before 
God, to underftand and welcome the falvation of the 
gofpel. Thus the law was delivered from Mount Sinai, 
to prepare the minds of the Ifraelites for the promifes and 
types of good things to come : and it ihouid be deliver- 
ed from eve;y pulpit with molt awful folemnity, in con- 
nection with the biefled gofpel ; and in this way of 
inftrudtion it (till proves " a fchoolmalter to bring us to 
" Chrift, that we may bejuftified by faifh* 

IL The law is exceedingly ufeful to illujirate the necef- 
Jity, nature, and glory of redemption. " The Lord is rich 
" in mercy" yea, «« he delighteth in mercy :" why, then, 
does he not pardon all finners by a mere acl of fovereign 
grace ? What need was there of a Surety, a Redeemer, 
or an atonement ? Why muft God be manifeft in the 
flefh ? Why muft Emmanuel agonize and die on the 
crofs ? Did ever earthly prince require his beloved, his 
only, his dutiful fon, to endure the moft intenfe tortures, 
previoufly to his pardoning any number of criminals I 



222 On the Uses of the Moral Law, Essay XV. 

This could not be neceiTary, in order to \ prevail ivith God 
■to love and Jove us : for it is every where ipoken of in 
Scripture, as the moft emphatical evidence, and richeft 
fruit, of his love to us. But the Lord is infinitely hdy 
fn his nature, and righteous in his moral government ; 
and he is determined to " magnify his law, and make it 
" honourable." We had by our iins deSpiSed and 'dis- 
honoured the holy law, and rendered ourfelves obnoxious 
to the juit vengeance of our Creator: if then he fpared 
us, his holineSs, juftice, and law would be difgraced, or at 
leaft the glory of them obfcured ; unlefs fome other de- 
ciiive method were taken of magnifying his law, difplay- 
ing his juftice, and filling the world with awful aftonifh- 
ment at his holy hatred of fin. Whilft he therefore 
makes thefe things known, by the final mifery of fome 
tranfgrefTors : he pardons others, to the praiSe of his glo- 
rious grace j but in fuch a way, as ftili more effectually 
iecures the honour of his law and government. " He 
" hath fet forth his own Son to be a propitiation for fin ^ 
* ( that He might be juft, and the juftirier of him that be- 
« lieveth." They who really believe and underftand 
the Scriptural account of this furprifing tranfaclion, diS- 
cern in a meaSure the neceffiry of this redemption, with 
Somewhat of its real nature, and of the glory of God pe- 
culiarly difplayed in it ; while to all others, the " preach- 
f( ing of the crofs is foolifhnefs :" And in exact propor- 
tion to our v ; ews of the excellency of the holy law, will 
be our admiration of the divine perfection as harmoni- 
ously glorified in tiie goSpel. 

III. The law is ufeful, as a rule of conduB to believ- 
ers. Wuen we have fled for refuge to Chrift by faith, 
we are delivered from the curfe of the kw, and from the 
legal covenant; but we remain Subjects of God's moral 
government, and are bound to obedience by new and 
moft endearing obligations^ " Shall we then Sin, becaufe 
c< we are not under the law, but under grace ? God for- 
" bid." Yet there is no other rule of duty and lin, but 
the moral law as above defined, and " where no law is, 
u there is no trangreffion !" Our blelTed Lord, when 
about to expound, in the moft ftrict and fpiritual man- 
ner, feveral precepts of the moral law, folemnly premifed 
thefe words, " Whofoever therefore fhall break one of 



Essay XV. in Subserviency to the Gospel. 223 

«« thefe leaft commandments and te-ch m:-m fo, he fhall 
*< be called the leaft in the kingdom of heaven : but 
<< whofoever Jhail do and teach them, the fame fhall be 
" called great in the kingdom of heaven ■;" that is, among 
the miniilers of his golpel*. He lays to his difciples, 
if if ye love me, keep my commandments :" and what 
are his commandments, but the precepts of the moral 
law enforced on believers by the mod powerful and en- 
dearing obligations and motives-}- ? — The Apoftles contin- 
ually refer believers to the moral law, as the rule of their 
conduct; and fometimes quote for this purpofc the very 
words of the ten commandments^. " We are not with- 
" out law to God, but under the law to Chrift§ :" the 
believer receives the law, deprived of its condemning 
power, from the hand of the Redeemer, as the rule by 
which to regulate his tempers, affections, conduct and 
converfation, to the honour of the gofpel, and the glory 
of God. " Do we then make void the law through 
" faith ? God forbid, yea, we eftablifh the law." He 
who truly loves the divine Saviour, and feels the in- 
fluence of evangelical principles, will greatly defire 
to know what his Lord would have him to do, 
that « his love may abouifd in knowledge, and in all 
" judgement j|," and that he may " not be unvife, but 
" underftanding what the will of the Lord is**." As 
there can be no authorifed itandard and rule of the 
Lord's tuill, except his commandments : fo, that Chriftian 
who beft underitands them will be moft completely fur- 
ni died for every good work; provided his knowledge 
of the truths and promifes of Scripture be equally clear 
and compreheniive. And though love be both the prin- 
ciple of obedience , and the fubjlance of the laiv ; yet we 
need more particular directions in exprefiing our love, 
and regulating our conduct towards God and man. 

IV. The law is very ufeful to believers, as the tejl or 
touch/tone of their fincerity. It is written in the heart of 



*-Matt. v. 19, 20. t John, xiyi 15, 21....23. xv. 10....14. 

% Rem. xiii. b...,10. Gal. v. 13, 14. Eph. vi. 2. Jam. ij, 

b...A6. iv. 11, 12. Uohn, in. 4. 

§ 1 Cor. ix. 21. 1| Phil. i. 9. ** Eph. v. 17. 



224 On the Uses of the Moral Law, Essay XV. 

all true Chriftians by the Ho!y Spirit* ; ib that they all 
" delight in it after the inward man," " confent to it 
<( that it is good," " count all God's commandments in 
« all things to be right," " love and chufe all his pre- 
" cepts," repent of, and mourn for, every fin as a tranf- 
greffion of the law, are grieved and burdened becaufe 
they M cannot do the things that they would,'' and long 
to love God and man as perfectly as the law requires. 
The fruits of the Spirit, by which their deliverance from 
the law as a covenant is fealed, are coincident with the 
requirements of its holy precepts : the example of Cbrift, 
which they are called and inclined to imitate, coniifted 
in a perfect obedience to the holy law ; the holinefs, 
which they follow after, is no other than conformity to 
it, as refuiting from evangelical principles, and a constant 
regard to the Redeemer's Perfon and their obligations 
to him : nay, the heavenly felicity to which they afpire is 
the perfection of this conformity ; the full enjoyment of 
God, as the fupreme object of their love-, and the de- 
light offharing the happinefs of all holy creatures, by 
loving and being loved by them, without envy, fufpicion, 
fear, or the alloy of any other bafe and fclfiGh paffion. 
But " the carnal mind," (whether in an infidel, a care- 
lefs (inner, a Pharifee, or a hypocrite,) " is enmity againft 
" God : for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither 
" indeed can be." All unregenerate men fecretly diflike 
the ftrictnefs and fpirituality of the law, and wi(h to have 
it abrogated or mitigated ; this fecret inclination is the 
fource of all antimonian principles ; and in this refpect 
perfons of the moft oppolite fentiments refemble each 
other ; for virulent oppofers and loofe abufers of the 
doctrines of grace, are alike influenced both by the pride 
of felf-confidence which is the effence of pharifaifm, and 
by the enmity to the law which diftinguifhes the antimo- 
nian. On the other hand, the true believer approves 
of the very precept that condemns his own conduct, and 
longs to have his own heart changed into conformity to 
the holy commandment. If then profeiTors of the gof- 
pel were more fully acquainted with the requirements of 

* Jer. xxxi. 33. Heb. viii. 10. 



Essay XV. in Subserviency to the Gospel. 225 

the divine law, they would be far lefs expofed to the 
danger of deceiving themfelves ; and fincere believers 
would more clearly perceive, that their mourning for fin 
and hatred of it, their tendernefs of conference, and un- 
eafy longings after higher degrees of hoiinefs than any 
of which they once had the lea ft conception, conftitute 
a " witnefs in themfelves" of their acVtual union with 
Chrift, and of their intereft in all the blTIings of the 
new covenant. At the fame time a more diftinct 
view of tl .t juftice of that awful fentence, from which 
Chrift hath redeemed them with his own blood, would, 
in proportion to their affurance of deliverance and hope 
of eternal life, animate them to live more entirely devot- 
ed to his fervice " who died for them and rofe again*." 

V. The knowledge of the law is exceedingly ufeful to 
believers, as ajiandard of continual f elf examination, to ex- 
clude fpirituai pride, and to keep the loui at all times 
abafed, and fimpiy dependent on the Lord Jefus Chrift. 
Knowledge, gifts, ufefulnefs, or other attainments by 
which men are diftinguifhed from thofe around them, 
have a powerful tendency to excite felf-complacency and 
felf-preference : but when a believer comes to compare 
the ftace of his heart, and the very duties and fervices he 
performs, with the fpirituai and holy commands of God ; 
he is reminded of his guilt and depravity, and taught his 
conftant need of repentance, forgivenefs, the biood of 
Chrift, and the fuppOes of his grace. Thus, he learns to 
walk humbly before Goci, however he may be diftin- 
guiihed among men; to be aihameei offuch good works 
as he would otherwife admire ; to count even his evan- 
gelical duties as drofs in comparifon of Chrift and his 
righteoufnefs ; to be fimpie in his dependence on the 
Lord in all things ; and knowing that he hath not at- 
tained, " to preis forward to the mark, for the high 
" calling of God in Chrift Jefus." 

Having thuscompendiouily ftated fome of the leading 
ufes of the moral law in fubferviency to the gofpel, it 
now remains to conftder the bad efecls ivhich arife from 
ignorance ^ inattention^ or confufed appreherifions on thisfub- 
jecl, in the ministers and profejjbrs of the gofpel. We here 
fuppoie that tiie feveral uocTtrines of the gofpel are ftat- 



Our. v. 14. 15. 

U 



226 On the Uses of the Moral Law, < Essay XV. 

eel and apprehended as fully as they can be, when the 
perfect law of God is greatly kept out of fjght : for this 
muft create considerable inconfiftency in the beft ar- 
ranged fyftem of evangelical doctrine. We obferve alfo, 
that there are various degrees and kinds of ignorance 
and inattention to the law, or of a confufed and unferip- 
rural way of fpeaking about it. Some perfons feem al- 
njoitto leave it out of their fyftem, or only to fpeak of 
it in depreciating terms : others advert to it's ftrictnefs 
and feverity, but they are not equally feniibL of its ex- 
cellency. Many are acquainted with it's ufes in convinc- 
ing men of fin, but not of it's value as a rule of conduct : 
others, on the contrary, apply it's precepts to the regula- 
tion of the Chriftian's conduct, but are lefs habituated to 
ufe them to alarm the confeiences of unbelievers. But 
in proportion as any of thefe ufes are neglected, fome or 
other of the following effects may be apprehended. 

I. Great numbers of thofe, that hear and affent to the 
gofpel, wiil remain deftitute of any ferious concern about 
their fouls. Whatever men learn of Chrift, and his love, 
or free falvation ; they feldom count him the Pearl of 
great price, and confent to part with all for his fake, till 
they are made deeply feniible of their danger as loft pe- 
rifhing tinners. And it hath been fhewn that this is 
the grand fcriptural means of bringing men to this con- 
viction. A great part therefore of that want of fuccefs 
which fome able men complain of, may fairly be.afcribed 
to their failure in this particular. 

II. Ignorance of or inattention to the law always oc- 
caiions the prevalence or increafe -of a legal or f elf- righteous 
fpirit. This propenfity of our proud hearts is fir it brok- 
en, by perceiving in fome meafurehovv juftlyand certain- 
ly the law of God condemns even our belt actions ; be- 
caufe they are io defective in their motive and meafure, 
and fo defiled in themfelves : and were we always infl 
enced by a realizing conviction, that « God deems us 
i ferving of final condemnation , for not loving him with all 
* our hearts / our pronenefs-to rely on our own works 
could not fubfift, but we muft draw all our confidence 
from the grace of the gofpel. All other devices for 
curing this difeai'e are mere palliatives : but the Apoftle 
directs us to the radical cure, when he fays,, « I through 
" the law, am dead to the law.'' 




Essay XV. in .Subserviency to the Gospel. 227 

III. Ignorance of, or errors about, the holy command- 
ments of God gives occafion to the increafe of unfound pro- 

f effort of the gofpl'l, whofe feandalous Jives, or awful apof- 
tacies, often diigrace the caufe of truth. If men are al- 
lowed to coniider the law of God as an enemy from ivhich 
Chriji came to deliver us ; if they conclude, that their natu- 
ral tlijlike to it is excufable.. their inability to keep it a misfor- 
tune and their condemnation for breaking it an act of extreme 
rigour . bordering on injuflice ,• if they iuppoie lalvation to 
eoniift almoit wholly in deliverance from condemnation, 
ami do not in the leaft perceive that all true believers 
really repent of, and condemn themfelves for, breaking 
the law ; are taught to love and delight in it, and are 
b :>th required and inclined to teftify the iincerity of their 
love by unreferved obedience to all its precepts : they 
will readily embrace a doctrine, which gives relief to 
their uneafy confidences, and leaves the favourite lufts of 
their hearts immoietted. Thus it.'ny-ground hearers, 
who welcome the gofpel with impenitent joy, and then 
in time of temptation fall awav ; and thorny-ground 
hearers, who retain an unfruitful profeffion, with a world- 
ly, covetous, or fenfual life, will abound in the viable 
church ; and be as Achans in the camp. No tare in- 
deed of man can wholly prevent this : but a clear and 
dirtinct view of the holy law of God, and its fubfervien- 
cy to the gofpel, is one very important mea^s of prevent- 
ing fuch dreadful delulions, and fuch wide-fpreading 
fcandals. 

IV. The prevalence of corrupt and heretical princi- 
ples originates from the fame iource. Perhaps it might' 
be ihewn, that all anti-fcriptural fchemes of religion 
coincide in feveral particulars. They agree in confider- 
ing the perfect law of God as too [trie! in it's demands, 
and too fevere in it's penalty ; and in fuppofing, that it 
ijpuld be inconfiftent with the divine jufiice and good- 
fiefs, to deal with his rational creatures according to it. 
None of them allow exprefsly that Chrift died, to 
honour this law, and to fatisfy the juftice of God for our 
franfgrefnons of it, that he might fave finners without 
feeming to favour fin : but they fuppofe his death to 
have been defigned exclufively for fome other purpofe?. 
Nor do any of them confider a total change of nature 



228 On the Uses of the Moral Law, Essay XV. 

and difpoiition, to be abfolutely neceffary to ialvation ; 
but all of them explain regeneration to mean fomething 
v j ry different from, and far beneath, this new creation 
unto holinefs. They, who differ and difpute the moft 
eagerly about other points, when their fentiments are 
carefully examined, are found to harmonize in thefe par- 
ticulars. The philofophical Socinian, who rejecls the 
doctrine of the atonement as needlefs, and the eternity 
of future puniihment as unjuft ; here joins iffue with 
the antimonian, or enthufiafr, who boafting of free grace 
an'l extraordinary illuminations, reviles and tramples on 
the law which Chrift died to magnify and honour. Al- 
moff. all errors in religion connecl with mifapprehenfons 
about the law of God ; ignorance, inattention, and confut- 
ed views of it, muft therefore tend exceedingly to favour 
v t}ie propagation of heretical opinions of various kinds. 
A few inftances may be mentioned. It would not 
be fo common, as far as we can fee, for thofe, who 
have been educated in evangelical principles, to di- 
verge into Arian or Socinian fentiments ; if a deep 
and clear knowledge of the demands, excellency, and 
ufe's of the law, were connected with their views of 
human depravity, redemption, juftification and regenera- 
tion ; to affifl them in underftanding the real nature 
and neceffrty of the great doctrines of falvation. For. 
want of this, when they are preffed by fubtile reafon- 
ings on fuch fubje&s, they know not what to anfwer, 
and fo give up the truth as untenable on rational 
grounds ; inftead of perceiving that it has it's- founda- 
tion in the nature of things, in the divine perfections, 
and in our condition as tranfgreffors, and as creatures 
continually propenfe to tranfgrefs. — We can hardly con- 
ceive, that men profeffing godlinefs, could ever have 
fancied themfelves perfeElly free from allfin> and fo have 
been feduced into a moft disgraceful and injurious 
kind of felf-preference and fpiritual pride ; if they had 
been previoufly well grounded in the knowledge of the 
extenfive demands of the divine law. — The myftic who 
places the whole of his religion on the internal feelings 
of his mind, or what he calls the voice or the moving 
of the Spirit ; whilft the doctrine of the atonement, 
the life of faith in a crucified Saviour, the written 



Essay XV. in Subserviency to- the Gospel 229 

word, and the means of grace, are contemptuofly dis- 
regarded by him ; and the antimonian, who is Satisfied 
with what Chrift has done for him, and perceives no 
want of a renovation to the divine image, or a perfonal 
holinefs of heart and life *, mult alike ftand confuted, 
if the real nature, excellency, and ufes of the holy 
law were clearly difccvered to them. But where this 
is overlooked, fome of thefe perverSions of the gofpei 
will infinuate themfelves, and prey infenfibly on the 
vitals of true religion, whatever attempts be made to- 
exclude or eradicate them. 

V. Through ignorance of the law, real Chriftians 
habitually neglect duties, commit (ins, or give way to 
evil tempers, to the difcredit of the gofpei, or to the 
hindrance of their own fruitfulnefs, comfort, and, 
growth in grace. It has frequently happened, that: 
minifters have heard fome of their people acknowledge, 
after receiving practical inftruclions, that they had not 
before been fenfible, that fuch or fuch things were fins ; 
or that this or the other was a duty incumbent on them:, 
nay the meditation on fuch Subjects has Sometimes the 
fame effecl: on the minifters themSelves. The knowl- 
edge of the precepts, therefore, is the proper method 
of rendering believers " complete in the will of God 
■" in all wifdom and Spiritual underftanding," and in 
bringing them " to walk worthy of God unto all well 
" pleafing :" and confequently inattention to it muft 
proportionably produce the contrary effects*. 

VI. Laftly. The Scriptures enlarge in commenda- 
tion of the divine, commandments, and in exhorting 
men to abound in the work of the Lord, and to be' 
zealous of good works : but many, who profeSs or 
preach evangelical truth, Speak very little on thefe Sub- 
jects, except in an unguarded depreciating manner s 
hence additional prejudices are excited in men's minds 
againft the doctrines of grace, as fubverfive of holy 
practice. But if the nature, ufe, excellency, and ne- 
ceiSity, of good works, as the fruits and evidences o£ 



* Coi. i. 9. 10. 
U 2. 



230 On the Believer's Warfare Essay XVI. 

t rue faith, were more fully under ftood : and the pre- 
c eptive part of the Bible, in fubferviency to the gofpel, 
were mor prominent in men's difcourfes and conduct. ; 
iuch objections would be confuted •, and they would " be 
" put to ihame, who mould falfely accuiV' either our 
holy do&rine, or " good converfation in Chrift Jefus." 



ESSAY XVI. 

On the Believer's Warfare and Experience,, 

1 HE facred Scriptures always represent the true 
Chriftian, as a foldier engaged in an arduous warfare 
with potent enemies, againft whom he is fupported, 
and over whom he is made victorious, by the gracious 
influences of the Holy Spirit, through faith in the 
Lord Jefus, the Captain of our falvation, and by obey- 
ing his commands. Such expreffions asfghtingifriv- 
ingy and ture/lling, with frequent and varied allufions 
to military affairs, imply an experience effentially dif- 
ferent from that of thofe perfons, who never engaged 
in the conflict or who have already obtained the con- 
queror's palm : nor can any hope, or even affurance, 
of victory and triumph, or any intervening feafons of 
peace and joy, entirely preclude this difference. The 
diftin£tion therefore, between the church militant on 
earth and the church triumphant in heaven, hath on 
good grounds been eftablifhed ; and they, who do not 
well understand and confider it, will be very liable to 
fall into feveral injurious, difcouraging, difgraceful, or 
even fatal miftakes. In difcuffing the fubje£t, we. 
may firfl briefly confider the diftinguifhing principles, 
purpofes, and defires of the perfons who are engaged 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 23 T 

in this warfare : — we may next enumerate the enemies, 
with whom efpecially they are called to contend :— we 
may briefly mention the encouragements, fupports, 
and aids vouchfafed them -, the weapons with which 
they fight, and the manner in which they mud put on 
and ule their armour : — we may then advert to the 
nature and effects of their victories ; and conclude 
with a few hints on the appropriate experience that 
mull refult from their fituation. 

I. Then, we fpeak not in this place, of the whole 
multitude who are called Chriftians, or who profefs to 
believe the Scriptures : neither do we include all, who 
fubfcribe or difpute for the feveral doctrines, that con- 
ftitute the grand peculiarities of the Chriftian faith ^ 
nor the whole company who compofe any peculiar feci; 
or denomination, to the exclufion of others. In re- 
fpecl: of all fuch collective bodies, we are alas, con- 
flrained to allow, that but few comparatively "Jirive 
" to enter in at the flrait gate*." A vail majority of 
them all frequent " the broad road that leadeth to de- 
" ftrutlion," " hold the truth in unrighteoufnefs, and 
" walk according to the courfe of this world." Many 
of them indeed ebferve Gamaliel's cautious advice, and 
are not openly united with thofe, " who fight againft 
" God :" but then, they aim to obferve an impracti- 
cable and inadmiffible neutrality, and know nothing of 

< fighting under the banner of Chrift againft the world,. 
* the flefh, and the devil, and' of being his faithful fol- 

< diers to the end of their lives ;' unlefs they have read 
or heard it, in the form of baptifm, or have been taught 
any thing about it from fome orthodox catechifm. But 
the perfons, of whom this ElTay treats, are thofe of 
every name, who, by " obeying the truth," have been 
" made free from fin, and become the fervantsof God." 
Moll of them remember the time, when " they were 
" foolifh, difobedient, deceived : ferving divers lulls 
u and pieafures, living in malice and envy, hateful, 
" and hating one anotherf ;" but " God, who is rich 
" in mercy, of his great love, wherewith he loved them, 



Matt. vii. 13, 14* Luke, xiii* 23...30. t Tit, iii. 



232 On the Believer's Warfare Essay XVI. 

" even when they were dead in fin, hath quickened 
M them*." Thus " being born again, not of corrup- 
" tible feed, but of incorruptible," they were enligh- 
tened to fee fomething of the glory of God, the evil of 
fin, the value and danger of their fouls, and their need 
of mercy, grace, and falvation. They were effectual- 
ly warned to flee from the wrath to come, and led to 
repent and turn to God, to deny ungodlinefs and world- 
ly lulls, to renounce their former hopes, and to believe 
in Chrift that they might be juflified by faith. Having 
been thus taught " to count all but lofs, for the excel- 
" lency of the knowledge of Chrift," they are prepar- 
ed to deny themfelves, bear the crofs, labour, venture, 
fuffer, and part with all for his fake. In this manner 
they have been '< delivered from the power of darknefs, 
(l and -translated into the kingdom of the beloved Son 
i( of God :" they feparate from his enemies, and join 
themfelves to his friends : they throw down the arms of 
their rebellion, and <* put on the whole armour of 
" God :" they deliberately enlift under the banner of 
Chrift ; confider his people,- caufe, and honour, as their 
own, and his enemies within and around them as 
equally, hoftile to them alfo. Under the conduct of 
divine grace, thefe confecrated warriors (< ftrive againft 
*« fin," feeking the deftruction of the kingdom of Satan, 
in their hearts and in the world, as far as their influence 
can reach ; and do not, when, moft themfelves, fo much 
as entertain one thought of making any peace or truce 
with the enemies of Chrift and of their immortal fouls. 
Holinefs, (or conformity to the law and moral perfec- 
tions of God,) they deem their health and liberty, and 
fin their difeafe, bondage, and mifery ; they regard 
themfelves as bound, by the ftrongeft and moft endear- 
ing obligations, to devote themfelves wholly to the fer- 
vice of their God and Saviour ; they efteem the inter- 
efts of evangelical truth and vital godlinefs, as of the 
utmoft importance to the happinefs of mankind ; and 
they expeel: their prefent comfort, as well as their future 



Eph. ii. 1....J 0. 



Essay XVI. and Experience* 233 

felicity, from communion with God and the enjoy- 
ment of his favour. 

But various inward and outward impediments and 
obftructions combine to counteract thefe defires, and 
to prevent thefe principles from producing their full 
effect : and whilft they ftruggle to exert themfelves 
notwithftanding this oppofition, a conflict enfues to 
which all rational creatures in the univerfe, who are not 
thus circumftanced, mufh of courfe remain ftrangers : 
even as none, but foldiers in actual fervice, experience 
the dangers, hardfhips, and fufferings of a military life. 
The regenerate perfon as really loves God, and defires 
to obey, honour, worfhip, and pleafe him, and for his 
fake to act properly towards his brethren, as angels in 
heaven do •, and at thofe times, when his heart is en- 
larged in holy contemplations, he longs to be perfectly 
holy, obedient, and fpiritual : then the principles of the 
new man vigoroufly exert themfelves \ and the remains 
of corrupt nature, or of the old man, lie comparatively 
dormant ; the world is greatly out of fight, or (tripped 
of its attractions •, and the enemies of his foul are rcf- 
trained from aflaulting him. But when the Chriftian 
hath left his clofet, or the houfe of God, and is return- 
ed to the employments of his ftation in life ; he finds 
himfelf unable to realize his previous views, or to ac- 
complifh the purpofes which he moft uprightly formed ; 
and he often wonders to find himfelf fo different a perfon 
from what he was a few hours before. This however 
is only partial and temporary : the better principles im- 
planted in his foul counteract, and prevent the effect, 
of corrupt paffions and external objects, andlhortly re- 
fume a more decided afcendency. So that upon the 
whole, the believer fuccefsfully oppofes fin, afferts his 
liberty, and ferves God : and his ftate is determined by 
this habitual prevalence ; for " he walks not after the 
« flem, but after the Spirit." 

A conflict of this kind may eafily be perceived to be 
a very different thing from the feeble and occasioned in- 
terruptions, which an unregenerate man fometimes ex- 
periences in following the habitual inclinations of his 
heart. Thefe arife only from convictions of confcience, 
fear of confequences, or felfifh hopes ; while his defires 



234 On the Believer's Warfare Essay XVL 

and affections are wholly fixed on carnal things : he can- 
not properly be faid to have fo much as one juft idea of 
fpiritual good \ and religion is his tafk, of which he per- 
forms no more than what his fears or hopes impofe upon 
him. Yet thefe very diftincl: cafes are often confound- 
ed, and this produces much mifchief 

It is however requifite more particularly to enumerate 
and confider the enemies, with whom the Chriftian, 
foldier is called to encounter, if we would fully under- 
ftand the important fubjecl:. The Apoftle, having faid> 
« The flefh lufteth againft the fpirit, and the fpirit 
" againft the flefh : and thefe are contrary the one to the 
91 other, fo that ye cannot do the things that ye would ;" 
proceeds to mew what are the ivorks ofihefle/h, and the 
fruits of the Spirit* ; from which enumeration it is evi- 
dent, that the flefh fignifies our whole nature as born of 
Adam's fallen race, with all its propen Titles, animal 
and intellectual, as they are contrary to the fpiritual 
commands of God ; and that " the fpirit as ftriving 
againft it," fignifies the work of the Holy Spirit, renew- 
ing our fouls to holinefs. and fo teaching , difpofing, 
and enabling us to love and ferve God. " For that 
" which is born of the flefh is flefh, and that which is 
" born of the Spirit is fpirit." 

If we then carefully examine the nature of man, we 
ihail find, that a difpofition to depart from God, and 
idolatroufly to love and feek felicity from the creature, 
is common to our whole fpecies : and from this general 
principle, according to different men's conftitutions, edu- 
cations, habits, connections, or circumftances, fome 
are more propenfe to avarice, fome to ambition, fome 
to fenfual indulgence, and others to malignant pafhons, 
with every poffible variation. Thefe propenfities, being 
excited by temptation, gathering force by gratification, 
triumphing over fhame and conscience, and irritated by 
the interference of thofe who purfue the fame objects, 
hurry men into every kind of excefs •, burft forth into 
all the variety of crimes that have prevailed in every age 
and nation ; and produce all forts of immorality in 
men's conduct towards each other, and all impiety, 

* Gal, v. 17....23.- 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 235 

blafphemy, and other daring offences, againft the Al- 
mighty Governor of the Univerfe. And, as he, who 
attempts to force his way againft a torrent, beft knows 
its ftrength ; fo none are fo well acquainted with the 
power of corrupt propenfities and habits, as they that 
refolutely endeavour to overcome and extirpate them. 
When, therefore, holy principles have been implanted 
in the heart by the Spirit of God, and a man fees the 
urgent neceffity, and feels the ardent desire, " of cruci- 
«« fying the flzih with its affections and lufts ;" then his 
conflicT: begins : for, pride, anger, envy, malice, 
avarice, or fenfual lufts, being no longer allowed to do- 
mineer, abide, like a dethroned tyrant, and have a 
ftrong party in the foul •, and confequently they oppofe 
and counteract the beft defires and purpofesof the be- 
liever, and engage him in a perpetual conteft. At fome 
times they find him off his guard, and gain a temporary 
advantage, which makes work for deep repentance ; 
at all times they impede his progrefs, mingle pollution 
in his fervices, and interrupt his endeavours to glorify 
God and adorn the gofpel. Thefe things are generally 
moft painfully experienced, in refpe£t of fuch fins as 
had by any means previoufly acquired the afcendency 
over him ; and in proportion to the degree in which he 
remits watchfulnefs and prayer : but even thofe evil pro- 
penfities, from which a man before thought himfelf 
moft free, will be found on trial to poffefs great power 
in his foul. 

The Apoftle gives us in his own cafe a very particu- 
lar account of the believer's conflict with thefe enemies* j 
for we may be confident, that no man except the true 
believer, " delights in the law of God," " ferves it with 
" his mind," « hates ali fin," and " has a will" to 
every part of the fpiritual fervice of God : nor can we 
fuppofe, that Paul would fay. " / myfelf" if he meant 
another perfon of an oppofite character ; or ufe the pre- 
fect tenfe throughout, if he had referred to his pajl expe- 
rience in an unconverted ftate. The whole of the paf- 
fage moft aptly defcribes the cafe of a man who loves 

Rom. vii. 14....25. 



236 On the Believer's Warfare Essay XVI. 

God and his fervice, and would obey and glorify him as 
angels do ; but who finds the remainder of evil propenfi- 
ties and habits continually impeding, and often prevail- 
ing againft him ; yet refolutely maintains the combat 
with thefe enemies, as determined if poffible entirely to 
extirpate them ; and at the fame time feels himfelf more 
pained by the oppofition made by his fins to thebeft de- 
fires of his heart, than by all his perfecutiens or afflic- 
tions ; and rejoices notwithstanding in the mercy and 
grace of the gofpel, and in the profpe£r. of complete and 
final deliverance. 

Indeed all the falls, defe&s, complaints, rebukes, 
chaftenings, and confeflions, of believers in every part 
of the Scripture, undeniably imply the fame conflict. 
We read not of any one who explicitly fpoke of himfelf, 
or was fpoken of by others, as free from all remains of 
fitly and made perfeEt in holinef.^ or as having accoimplifh- 
ed his warfare whilft he lived in this world : we muft 
therefore conclude, that thofe perfons who now profefs 
to have attained to this kind of perfection, are in this 
refpeel deceived, or ufe words without a proper atten- 
tion to their import. If the inward enemy were quite 
flaiu, and we could in this fenfe adopt the words of 
Chrift, (i the prince of this world cometh, and hath 
nothing in me j" the reft of our conflict would be com- 
paratively eafy : but whilft this caufe ftill fubfifts, we 
muit expect at times to have our joys interrupted by 
fights, and groans, and tears, and trembling, till we 
are removed to a better world. 

Wefhould, however, recollecl: the Apoftle's words, 
« We wreftle no: againft fie fir and blood, but againft 
« principalities, againft powers, againft the rulers of 
" the darkntfs of this world, againft fpiritual wicked- 
< 5 nefs in high places*'." The Scriptures continually 
lead our thoughts to thefe invifible enemies the fallen 
angels, or evil fpirifs. A kingdom of darknefs and 
iniquity is fpoken of, as eibbliihed under Satan the 
arch-apoftate, confiitmg of vaft numbers of his affoci- 
ates in rebellion. Thefe differ in capacity and injhience *, 



Eplv. vi. 10....18. 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 237 

but are all replete with pride, enmity, envy, deceit, 
and every deteitable propenfity : and their natural faga- 
city and powers are increafed by long experience in the 
work of deftru&ion. The entrance of fin by Adam's 
fall is afcribed to their ambition, envy, malice, and 
fubtlety : and ungodly men are uniformly confidered as 
their Jlaves, yea, as their children Satan is called the 
god and prince of this world : this old ferpent " deceiv- 
« v eth the nations," yea " the whole world ;" and he 
u taketh finners captive at his will :" conversion is flat- 
bed to confift in " turning from Satan to God." This 
" adverfary, as a roaring lion, goeth about feeking 
(i whom he may devour ;" and he " transforms himfelf 
" into an angel of light" to deceive the unwary. The 
whole company of evil fpirits are reprefented, as coun- 
teracting, by every poffible effort, the endeavours of the 
Lord's fervants to promote his caufe ; as harafhng thofe 
by temptations whom they cannot deflroy ; and as de- 
firing to fift and aflault them. They are fpoken of as 
putting all kinds of wickednefs into men's hearts, and 
as filling their hearts •, as the original authors of all 
heretics, perfecutions, delufions, and apoftacies ; and 
in fhort, as " working in the children of difobedience*." 
We mull therefore afcribe it wholly to the fub- 
tlety of the devil, who profpers raoft when lead fiif- 
pe&ed, that the fadducean fpirit of the age hath fo 
much discarded the language of the oracles of God, 
and hath fo far prevailed to bring this doctrine into 
contempt. In this way felf-wife men are outwitted by 
thefe fagacious deceivers, and then are employed by 
them to delude others alfo into a fatal fecurity. Were 
it not for the depravity of our hearts, thefe enemies 
would not have fo much power againit us ; and their 
fuggeftions do not excufe the fins which we voluntarily 
commit. But as they prevail moft fatally to deceive 
the world in general : fo believers muft expecl: to have 
a fharp conflict with them ; not only as they act by 



* 1 Kings, xxii. 20.-.24. Job, i. 6....12. Luke, viii. V2. xxv. 
31. John, viii. 44. xiii. 2, 27. xiv. 30. Acts. v. 3. xxvi. i8. 2 Cor. 
ii. 11. iv. 4. xi. 14. Ephii ii. 2. 2 Tim. ii. 26. 1 3ouw, iii. loi 
Rev. xii. y, 10. xx. 2> 3, 7....10. 

X 



238 On the Believer's Warfare EssAy XVI. 

their fervants, (fuch as infidels, perfecutors, falfe*- 
teachers, fcorners, flatterers, calumniators, feducers, 
and many others ;) but immediately by their fuggeftions 
and affaults. They feem efpecially to have accefs to 
the imagination ; where they prefent fuch iilufions, as 
excite the corrupt affections of the heart, or impofe 
upon the underftanding. Thus they draw men into er- 
ror, by ftirring up their pride, prejudices, and lulls, 
which darken and confufe the judgment. They often 
prefent fuch thoughts to the mind, as fill it with gloom 
and dejection, or with diftreffing doubts and hard 
thoughts' of God : and by fuggefting fuch things as 
the foul abhors, and by all imaginable contrivances, 
they tempt men to neglect the means of grace, the du- 
ties of their feveral Rations, or the improvement of their 
talents. But enough has been faid to Ihew, that we 
are called to conflict with evil fpirits, who know ivhere 
we are rnoil vulnerable, and when^ moft off our guard ; 
whofe jiery darts are as fuited to excite our paffions, as 
the fpark is to kindle the molt inflammable materials ; 
who conftantly aim to deceive, defile, difcourage, or 
impede our courfe ; and with whom we mult expecl: 
everyday to wreftie, though fome are comparativeiy 
evil days, when they have peculiar advantages in al- 
faulting us. 

The believer is alfo engaged in an arduous conflicl: 
with this evil worid, which is Satan's grand engine in 
all his ftrategems and affaults. Me ufes the things of 
the world as his baits, or propofed premiums, by which 
to allure men to -difobedicnce : " All,'" or fome of, 
«« thefe will I give thee," is fliil one grand argument 
in his temptations. Nor is this only the cafe, when 
the conduct fuggefted is evil in itfeif, and wealth, hon- 
our, or pleafure is annexed to it : but more commonly 
he prevails by feducing us into an inexpedient or ex- 
ceffive ufe, or puvfuit, of worldly things. Thus am- 
bufhments are concealed in every bufniefs, connection, 
relation, recreation, or company : and the world pre- 
vails againft us, by inducing us to wafte our time, to 
mifpend what is entrufted to us, to omit opportunities 
of ufefulnefs, and to indulge inordinate or idolatrous 
affection towards the creatures. The evil things of the 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 239 

world, as we deem them, are likewife employed by 
Satan, to deter us from the profellion of our faith, 
and the performance of our duty. Thus many are fe- 
duccd into fmful compliances, and led to renounce or 
difiemble their religion ; left they mould be ridiculed, 
reproached, forfaken of their friends, or expofed to 
hardships and perfections ', and then they flatter them- 
felves, th|jt this prudence will enable them to do the 
more good, till the event confutes the vain imagination. 
Near relations, beloved friends, liberal benefactors, 
admired fuperiors, as well as powerful oppofers, are 
often in this refp^cl: dangerous foes. Riches and pov- 
erty, youth and old age, repuiation and authority or 
the contrary, have their feveral fnares : whilft polite- 
nefs and rude infolence, company and retirement, af- 
fault the foul in different ways. Thefe iew hints may 
fhew, in what the believer's coiiflidt confiits, and to 
what continual dangers it muft expofe him. 

When, indeed, we ferioufly confider the variety of 
thofe obfiacles which interrupt our courfe, the number, 
power, and malice of our enemies, the fmfulnefs and 
treachery of our own hearts, our weaknefs, and our 
expofed condition •, we may well fay, " who is fufficient 
w for thefe things?" or what hope is there of faccefs 
in this unequal conteft ? But a proper attention to the 
Scriptures will convince us, that there is no ground 
for defpondency, or even for difcouragement : as the 
Lord aftures us, that he will ftrengthen, affift, uphold, 
and never forfake his redeemed people. We ought 
not therefore to fear our enemies ; becaufe He will be 
with us r , " and if God be for us, who can be againil us ?" 
Or who can doubt but " He that is iri us is greater, 
*« than he that is in the world ?" This was typically 
intimated in the promifes made to Ifrael, refpe&ing 
their wars with the Canaanites and other nations, which 
were fhadows and figures of the good fight of faith* : 
We are, therefore, exhorted « to be ftrong in the 
" Lord, and in the power of his might ;" for " they, 



* Excel, xiv. 14, Deut. vii. 1/, 18. Jrsh. x. 25, 42. lSam'i 
xiv. 6. 2 Chroa. xiv. 11. Is. xli. 10...16. liv. lJ.«ir P 



240 On the Believer's Warfare Essay XVI. 

« that wait on the Lord, fhall renew their ftrength ;" 
« and Jehovah, in whom is everiafting ftrength, is 
11 become our falvation." All power in heaven and 
earth isvefted in the Lord our Righteousness. He 
is Head over all things to his church : and his fervants 
have always found, that in proportion as they {imply 
trufted in him, " they could do all things," and that 
" when they were weak, then were they ftrong; for 
" the power of Chrift refted upon them* ':" rie reftrains 
and moderates, as he fees good, the aflaults of our 
outward enemies, or confounds their devices, and de- 
feats their deep laid machinations : all providential dif- 
penfations are directed by him, nor can any tribulation 
or temptation exceed the bounds he afligns, though all 
the powers of earth and hell mould combine againft one 
feeble faint : whilft the Holy Spirit communicates 
ftrength to our faith, fear, love, hope, patience, and 
every principle of the new man ; imparts ftrong confo- 
lations and heavenly joys ; effe&ually reftrains the en- 
ergy of corrupt paffions, and difpofes us to felf-denial, 
to bear the crofs, to perfevere in well-doing ; and to 
dread fin'-, and feparation from Chrift, or even difhon- 
ouring him, more than any other evil that can befall us. 
Supported, ftrengthened, and encouraged in this man- 
ner, believers have in every age been enabled " to 
" fight the good fight of faith," and to " overcome 
" every foe, by the blood of the Lamb, and the word 
" of their teftimony, and have not .loved their lives 
i{ unto the deathf :" Nay, they have generally acquitted 
themfelves moft honourably, when their adverfaries were 
moft formidable, and their temptations apparently moft 
invincible : becaufe they were then moft (imply depend- 
ent, and moft fervent in praying for the all-fufficient 
grace of the Lord Jefus, and moft ftedfaft in contem- 
plating his fufferings and the glory that followed. 

In order to maintain this conflict, with good hope of 
fuccefs, we muft " take to ourfelves," and " put on, 
« the whole armour of God." Confcious fincerity in 
our profeffion of the gofpel, muft be " as the girdle of 

* 2 Cor. xii. 9...11. Phil. iv. 13. t Rev. xii. 11, 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 241 

" our loins" without which we (hall be entangled, and 
embarrafled in all our conduct : an habitual obedient 
regard to our Lord's commands, as the rule of righteouf- 
nefs, muft be our breaft-plate in facing our foes : whilft 
a diftincl: knowledge, and cordial reception of the 
" gofpel of peace," and the way of accefs, pardon, 
reconciliation, and acceptance in the divine Saviour, 
muft be the /hoes of our feet, our only effectual prepara- 
tion for firmly (landing our ground, or comfortably 
marching to meet our aflailants. Above all faith, or a 
firm belief of the truths, and reliance on the promifes 
of God, mull be our "Jbie/d" with which we may 
ward off and extinguish the " fi. ry darts of Satan," 
and prevent their fatal effects. Hope of prefent fupport 
and heavenly felicity, muft be as a helmet to cover our 
head in the day of battle ; and with the plain teftimo- 
nies, precepts, promifes, and inftrucHons of the word 
of God, as " with the Sword of the Spirit" we muft, 
(after our Lord's example,) repel the tempter, and fo 
reful him, that he may flee from us*. In ihort, " the 
" weapons of our warfare are not carnal :" worldly 
wifdom, philofophical reafonings, and our own native 
ftrength and resolution, (like Saul's armour when put 
upon David,) can only encumber us. But when, con- 
scious of our weaknefs and unworthinefs, and diftruft- 
ing our own hearts, we " drive againft fin, looking 
" unto Jefus," relying on his power, truth, and grace, 
and obferving his directions ; when we aim to do his 
will, to feek his glory, and copy his example; then 
indeed we are armed for the battle ; and however men 
may defpife our weapons, (as Goliah did David the 
fhepherd with his ftaff, his fling, and (tones ;) we (hall 
not be put to fbame in the event, but (hall be made 
more than conquerors over every inward and outward 
foe. This armour is prepared in Chrift " our wifdom, 
" righteoufnefs, fa notification, and redemption ;" and 
in " his fulnefs of grace :" we take it to ourfelves by 
" the prayer of faith," by fearching and meditating on 
the Scriptures, and attendance on the means of grace. 



* Eph. vi. 10...18. 1 Thess. v, 5, 6. 
X 2 



242 On the Believer's Warfare Essay -XVI. 

By watchfulnefs, fobriety, habitual circumfpe&ion, and 
caution, we put it on, and keep it bright : and thus 
we are continually prepared for the conflict:, and not 
liable to be furprifed unawares, or to fall into the am- 
bufhments of our vigilent enemies* : And when we 
live at peace with our brethren, and pray for, warn, 
counfel, and encourage them alfo ; we fight the good 
fight, as a part of the great army, which ^is enlifted 
under the Redeemer's ftandard, to wage war againft 
(in, the world, and the powers of darknefs. 

As far as we are enabled, in this manner, fuccefsfully 
to oppofe our own corrupt paflions and various tempta- 
tions, we gain victories which afford us prefent comforts, 
lively hopes, and difcoveries of the Lord's love to our 
fouls ; and hereafter " glory, honour, and immortality." 
Our Captain afTures every one of his foldiers of this in- 
eftimable recompence ; and if they be flain in the con- 
flict, this will only put them more fpeedily in pofTtilion 
of the conqueror's crown. In refpect of others, our 
warfare is directed to the encouragement and help of our 
fellow foldiers ; the falvation, (not the deftruction,) of 
our fellow Tinners ; the benefit of all around us ; and 
above all the honour of our divine Saviour, by the fpread 
of his gofpel among men : while our boll profeflion of 
the truth, our examplary conduct, expanfive benevo- 
lence, fervent prayers, improvement of talents, and un- 
remitted attention to the duties of our feveral ftations, 
with quietnefs and prudence, as well as zeal, are peculi T 
arly fuitable to promote thefe important ends. The re- 
ligion of Jefus is thus continued from age to age, by the 
conversion of finners to the faith : and though the feed 
of the ferpent (till bruifes the Redeemer's heel, in the 
fufferings of his people : yet Satan is, as it were, put 
under the feet of every true Chriftian at death ; and 
Chrift will at length finally and completely crufh his 
head ; whilft all his faithful foldiers fhall attend his tri- 
umphs and fhare his glory. 



* Malt, xxvi, 41. Luke xxi. 34... 36, Rom. xiii. 11...14. 
1 Pet. v. My 9. 



Essay XVI. and Experience. 243 

It muft appear from this compendious view of our 
conflicts, that all, who are really engaged in them, ex- 
perience a variety of changing emotions in their minds, 
to which others remain entire ftrangers. They mult 
often mourn their ill fuccefs, or that of the common 
caufe, or rejoice in the advantages attained or hoped for. 
Sometimes they are afhamed and alarmed by being 
baffled, and at others they refume courage and return 
to the conflict. They always come far fhort of that 
entire victory over their appetites, paffions, and temp- 
tations, to which they afpire ; and they cannot there- 
fore be fo calm as indifference would render them. Much 
felf-denial muft be required in fuch a "cafe, and perpet- 
ual fears of being furprifed by the enemy. Yet their 
alarms, tears, groans, and complaints, are evidences 
that they are ChrilVs difciples ; their joys, with which 
a ftranger intermeddleth not, far more than counterba- 
lance their forrows, and they can often triumph in the 
allured hope of final victory and felicity, even amidft 
the hardfhip and fufferings of the field of battle. 



ESSAY XVII. 

On the Privileges enjoyed by the True Believer. 



J HE facred oracles continually teach us, that the 
upright fervant of God, (notwithftanding his mourning 
for fin, and all his conflicts, fears, chaftenihgs, and 
tribulations,) is favoured and happy above all other men, 
even in this prefent worl£ : for, when the Apoftle ob- 
ferved, that " if in this life only we have hope in Chrift, 
u we are of all men the moft miserable ;" he only meant, 
that if a Chriftian could be deprived of the hope of hea- 
ven, and all thofe earnefts, confolations, and lively af- 



244 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVII. 

fe£Hons which refult from it, his peculiar trials, his 
tendtrnefs of confcience, his antipathy to fin, and his 
thirftings after God and holinefs, would be fuper-added 
to the ordinary burdens of hfe, without any propor- 
tionable counterpoife to them. But as this is not, and 
cannot be, the cafe ; fo the Chriftian, with the hope oi 
glory, and his other peculiar privileges, may be, and 
actually is, in proportion to his diligence and fruitful- 
nefs, of all men the moft happy.. In order to evince this 
truth, it may be ufeful to appropriate this EiTay to the 
confideration of the moft diftinguiihed privileges of the 
real Chriftian, which no other man in the world can 
{hare with him : for they conftitute li a joy with which 
u a ftranger intermeddleth not j" even " the fecret of 
" the Lord, which is with them that fear him*." And 
it may be premifed, that a difpofition fupremely to de-r 
fire and diligently to feek after all thefe bieflings, as the 
felicity in which our fouls delight, and with which they 
would be fatisficd, is one grand evidence that we are 
actually interefted in them. 

I. Every real Chriftian is actually pardoned and jufti- 
fied in the fight of God: and " Bleffed is he whofe 
-*' tranfgreflion is forgiven ; whofe fin is covered : blef- 
(( fed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not 
" iniquityf ." Among a number of condemned criminals, 
that man would be deemed the happieft who had ob- 
tained the king's pardon ; though others were more ac- 
complished, or better clothed : for he would expect, in 
chearful hope, the opening of his prifon door to fet him 
at liberty from his confinement, and to reftore him to 
the comforts of life ; and this hope would render the 
temporary hardfhips of his fituation more tolerable : 
whereas the reft would dread the hour, when they were 
to be brought out of their cells to an ignominious and 
agonizing execution ; and this profpecl: would add to 
the gloom and horror of the dungeon. We all are crim- 
inals : death terminates our. confinement in this vile 
body, and this evil world : at that important moment 

* Ps. xxv. 14. Prov. xiv. 10. Rev. iu 17. 
f Ps. xxxii. 1, 2. Rom. iv. 6....S. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer. 243 

the pardoned firmer goes to heaven, the unpardoned fin- 
ner drops into hell : and, except as the former has his 
views darkened by temptation, and by fatherly rebukes 
for his mifconduct, ; or, as the latter has his fears obvi- 
ated by infidelity, and diffipated by intoxicating plea- 
fures and purfuits ; the very thought of this clofing 
fcene, and its moll interefting confequences, muft have 
a vaft efFeel: in rendering them happy or miferable, even 
during the uncertain term of their remaining lives. 
Nothing can be more evident, than that the Scripture 
declares the fins of all believers to be actually pardoned, 
and their perfons completely juftified. " There is," 
fays the Apoftle, " no condemnation to them which are 
" in Chrift Jefus, who walk not after the flefh, but af- 
" ter the Spirit." " Who {hall lay any^ thing to the 
" charge of God's elecl: ? It is God that juftifiVh. 
f< Who is he that condemneth ? It is Chrift that died ; 
" yea, rather is rifen again, who is even at the right 
" hand of God, who alfo maketh interceflion for us*." 
And our Lord allures us, not only that " he who be- 
€t lieveth is not condemned," but alfo that " he hath ever- 
u lajling life, and Jhall not come into condemnation^" 

The fame privilege was propofed to the old tefta- 
ment church •, when the prophet^ fpeaking of repen- 
tance and converfion, (the concomitants and evidences 
of true faith,) fays, in the name of Jehovah, " If the 
" wicked will turn from all his fins that he hath com- 
11 mitted, and do that which is lawful and right, he 
" ihall furely live, he (hall not die ; all his tranfgreffions 
t{ that he hath committed, they fhall not be mentioned un- 
u to him%" In other places the Lord fpeaks of " blotting 
" out the fins" of his people, and " remembering them 
<c no more," and of " cafting them into the depths of the 
"fea§." The Apoftles aflures us, that " all who be- 
" lieve are juftifed from all things ;" that u the blood 
" of Chrift cleanfeth them from all fin -" and that even 
little children in Chrift " have their fins forgiven them, 
" for his name fakejj •.' , So that the forgivenefs and 



* Rom. viii. 1. 33, 34. f John iii. 14...21. v. 24. 

\ Ezek. xviii. 21, 22, 27, 28. § Is. xliii. 25. xliv. 22. 

Jer. xxxi 34. Mic. vii. 19. |j Acts iii 19. xiii. 5S. 39* 

2 Cor. v. 19. 1 John i. 7. ii. 12.* 



246 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVII. 

juftification of believers are ftated to be already pa/} : 
and their deliverance from condemnation is not repre- 
fented as a future contingency, but fecured to them by 
an irrevocable grant: "being juftified by faith, they 
" have peace with God, through our Lord jefus Chrift " 
But, though this be the privilege of all true believers 
without exception ; yet the aElual ajjiirance that the blef- 
fmg belongs to them is pofFefled only by fome, and only 
at times even by many of thefe : for true faith may be 
very weak ; and it may conned! with a confufed judg- 
ment, a confiderable degree of ignorance, many pre- 
judices or miftakes, and fometimes a comparative prev- 
alence of carnal affections. In fuch circumftances a 
man may believe with a trembling faith, and cry out 
with tears, " Lord help my unbelief :" or he may firmly 
credit the teftimony, and rely on the promifes of God, 
with a full perfuafion of his power and willingnefs' to 
perform them ; and yet doubt whether he do not pre- 
sume and deceive himfeif, in fuppofing his faith to be of 
a faving nature : and in various ways a man may doubt 
whether he be a true believer, though he do not doubt 
but that Chrift will certainly fave all true believers. Nay, 
the frame even of a real Chriftian's mind, and the pref- 
ent tenor of his conduct, may render fuch doubts 
reafonable and the necefTary co ifequence of faith : for 
if a man yield to thofe evils which the Scripture enu- 
merates as marks of unconverfion, the more entirely 
he credits the divine teftimony, the greater reafon will 
he have to call his own ftate in queftion ; till fuch time 
as his convictions have produced a proper effe£f. upon 
his conduct. I fuppofe when Paul told the Galatians, 
that " he flood in doubt of them," he meant to induce 
them to ftand in doubt of themfelves ; and f* to exam- 
" ine whether they were in the faith," or whether they 
had hitherto deceived themfelves. We are, therefore, 
directed to give diligence both to obtain and to preferve, 
« the full aftiirance of hope* :" but this would not be 
proper advice, if faving faith confided in being fure of 
an intereft in Chrift \ which do&rine, (though incau- 



* Heb. vi. 11. 2 Pet. i. 10. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer, - 247 

tioufly maintained by fome very refpeclable perfons,) 
is evidently fuited to difcourage feeble believers, and to 
bolder up the falfe confidence of hypocrites. In pro- 
portion as it is manifeft that we are regenerate, that our 
faith is living, that it works by love and is accompan- 
ied by repentance, and that we partake of the " fane- 
" tification of the Spirit unto obedience ;" we may be 
fure that our fins are pardoned, and that all the prom- 
ifes of God fhall be accomplifhed to us. Yet mifappre- 
fion, and exceflive fear of being deceived in a concern 
of infinite moment, exclude many who have thefe evi- 
dences, from enjoying this affurance, except when im- 
mediately favoured with the confolations of the Spirit ; 
whilft conformity to the worid, in this day of outward 
peace and profperity, prevents many others from attain- 
ing to that decifion of character which warrants it ; and 
an abatement in diligence and fervency of affection 
caufes others to lofe the affurame which once they en- 
joyed, and to walk in doubt and darknefs, becaufe they 
have grieved their holy Comforter. Hence it appears, 
that the affurance of falvation is rather the gracious re- 
compen e of a fruitful and diligent profeffion of the 
gofpel, than the privilege of all who are in a ft ate of 
acceptance. And though all doubts may originate in- 
directly, or remotely, from unbelief, either total or 
partial ; for lively vigourous faith, working by fervent 
love, would foon difperfe them : yet frequently they are 
evidences that a man credits the teftimony of God, 
concerning the deceitfulnefs of the heart, the fubtlety 
of fatan, and the characters of thofe who are in the 
broad, and thofe who are in the narrow, way. Thefe 
fame obfervations are equally applicable to all the other 
privileges which we are about to confider : for in every 
one of them, the diftinclion between a title to the biffing 
in the fight of God, and the actual affurance and enjoyment 
of it in our oivn /a/Is, mould be carefully noted : the 
former is not affected by the believer's varied fuccefs in 
his fpiritual warfare ; the latter muft be continually 
influenced by the afTaults and temptations of the enemy, 
and by his own conduct refpe£ting them. 

If The true Chriftian, as " juftified by faith," "is 
" ucmciled to God :" a perfect amity fucceeds, -a 



248 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVII. 

covenant of peace and friendfttip is, as it were, figned 
and ratified ; and he is therefore honoured by the ap- 
pellation of " the friend of God." When we contem- 
plate the infinite majefty, authority, juftice, and holi- 
nefs of the Lord, and contrail with them, the mean- 
nefs, guilt, pollution, provocations, and ingratiiude 
with which we are chargeable ; when we confider, that 
He could eafily, and might juflly, have deftroyed us; 
that we cannot profit him, and that he could have cre- 
ated by. his powerful word innumerable millions of 
nobler creatures to do him fervice ; and \vhen we fur- 
ther advert to the enmity of the carnal mind againft his 
omnifcience, omnipotence, holinefs, righteoufncfs, truth, 
fovereignty, fervice, caufe, and people : we ihall per- 
ceive that we never can fufficientiy admire his mar- 
vellous love, and our own unfpeakable felicity, in being 
admitted to this blefled peace and friendfhip with the 
God of heaven, which is ftill more enhanced by the 
confideration, that " Chrift is our Peace," and that 
« he made peace through the blood of his crofs*." Nor 
can the advantages refuiting from it be fufBciertly valu- 
ed. Whilft believers, by the grace beftowed on them, 
are taught to love the character, fervants, caufe, truths, 
precepts, and worihip of God ; to hate the things 
which He hates, to feparate from his enemies, and to 
feek their liberty and felicity in his fervice : the Lord 
confiders all kindnefTes or injuries done to them as 
done to himfelf ; and " will blefs thofe that blefs them, 
<( and curfe thofe that curfe them." All his perfections, 
which before feemed with united force to enfure their 
dellru£tion, now harmonioufly engage to make them 
happy. His wifdom chufes their inheritance, his om- 
nifcience and omniprefence are their ever watchful 
guard, his omnipotence their protector, his veracity 
and faithfulnefs their unfailing fecurity ; his fatisfied 
juftice, connected with mercy, vindicates their rights, 
and recompences the fruits of his grace ; and his boun- 
ty fureiy fupplies ail their wants. Nor does the Lord 
conceal from thefe his friends the reafons of his con- 



*Eph. ii. 14..., 19. Col.i. 14....22. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer. 249 

duel:, in fuch matters as in any refpeft concern them* ; 
and he encourages them to open their inmoft fouls and 
to pour out their forrows and fears before him : fo that 
they can rejoice that he is acquainted with thofe things, 
which they could not mention to the deareft and moft 
intimate of their earthly friends. But indeed this priv- 
ilege of reconciliation to God, and friendfhip with 
him, comprifes all our other bleffings and expectations, 
here and hereafter: though it may be more inftrudtive 
to fpeak of them under different heads. 

III. The believer is alfo adopted into the family of 
God, and admitted to all the honour and felicity of his 
beloved children. " Behoid what manner of love the 
" Father hath bellowed on us, that we fhould be cal- 
" led the fons of Godf!" " According as he hath 
** chofen us in Chrift before the foundation of the 
** world, that we fhould be holy and without blame 
(i before him in love ; having predeftinated us unto the 
" adoption of children by Jefus Chrift unto himfelf, 
" according to the good pleafure of his will, to the 
*< praife of the glory of his grace;}:." He therefore thus 
addrefles us by his word, " Come ye out from among 
u them, and be ye feparate — and I will receive you, 
" arid ye (hall be my fons and my daughters, faith the 
u Lord Almighty}." This call being accompanied by 
the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, our minds 
are influenced to obey it : thus we are brought " to 
" repentance — and faith in Chrift," our fins are par- 
doned, and. we pafe from the family and kingdom of 
the wicked one, into the houfehoid of God, by a gra- 
cious adoption — This term was borrowed from the cuf- 
tom of the ancients, who frequently took the children 
of other perfons, and by a folemn legal procefs adopted 
them into their own families, gave them their names, 
educated them as their own, and left their eftates to 
them. So that regeneration communicates to the foul a 
divine nature, and makes us the children of God •, and 
adoption recognizes us as fuch, and admits us to the en- 



* Gen. xviii. 17....19. John xv. 15. f 1 John, iii. 1. 
t E\M, i, Z.. t .l5. § 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. 



250 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVII. 

joyment of the privileges belonging to that relation. 
Thus pardoned rebels become the children and heirs of 
the almighty and everlafting God, by faith in Jefus 
Chrift*. But what words can exprefs the value of this 
tiiitinguifhed privilege ! The adoption of the meaneft 
beggar, or the vileft traitor, into the family of the great- 
ell monarch, to be the heir of all his dignities, would 
produce but a trivial alteration in his circumftances ; for 
vexaticn, ficknefs, death would ftill await him *, and the 
diftance between the mightieft and the moft abject of 
men, or creatun s, is as nothing compared with that 
which fubftfts between the great Creator and all the works 
of his handsf . — This adoption as the children of God is 
not a mere name ; it is a fubftantial good, an honour, a 
dignity, and an advantage that eclipfes, and,- as it were, 
fwallows up all other benefits which can be obtained by 
any creature ! " If children then heirs ; heirs of God, 
" and joint heirs with Chrift ;" and we may be fure^ that 
every thing, which cm prepare us for, and put us in 
pofllflion of, our incorruptible and eternal inheritance, 
will be conferred by the love and bounty of our Almigh- 
ty Friend and Father. But «« we know not what we 
« fhall be :" " Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, nei- 
« ther have entered into the heart of man, the things, 
" which God hath prepared for them that love him." 
Left however we mould imagine, that any poiiihie ho- 
nour, advantage, or felicity was excepted, when the in- 
heritance of the children of God was mentioned ; he 
hath been pleafed to expand our views, and enlarge our 
expectations, by language taken from all the other moft 
endeared relations of life. The ob dient difdples of 
Chrift are his brethren, his lifters, and his mothers ; yea, 
their * Maker is their hufoand, the Lord of Holts is his 
" Name|." 

They, who are thus adopted into the family of God 
receive the Spirit of adoption, (inftead of the fpirit of 
bondage,) and are difpofed and encouraged to fay « Ab- 
ba, Father:" or, to addrefs him as their Father, what- 
ever language they fpeak, or to whatever country they 



* Gal. iii. 26. f Is. xl. 13....26. 

\ Is. liv'i 5. Matt. xii. 46..,.50, Epft. v. *o..>.27. 






Essay XV ll.by the True Believer. 251 

belong. We muft not underftand this expreffion mere- 
ly as denoting a confidence that God is our Father : for 
bdievers are often actuated by the fpirit of adoption, 
when haraffed with doubts whether they be children of 
God or not ; and numbers have an overbearing confi- 
dence cf their adoption, while their actions demonstrate 
that they belong to another family*. The fpirit of 
adoption indeed more properly belongs to the believer's 
temper and character, than to his privileges : yet it is ne- 
cerT.ry here to obferve in general, that the Holy Spirit, 
by producing in us that difpofition towards God which 
a dutiful Con bears towards a wife and good father, mani- 
ferls our regeneration and adoption, and " bears witnefs 
'< with our fpirits, that we are the children and heirs of 
" God : and whilft we feel our minds habitually influ- 
enced to apply to him in all our difficulties, to revere 
him, rely on, love, and obey him, to feek his glory, and 
rejoice in the fuccefs of the gofpel and the profperity of 
his people; we have " the witnefs in ourfelves," that 
we are born of God, and adopted into his family ; even 
though weaknefs of faith, mifapprehennon, or tempta- 
tation fhould create an hefitation in our minds whilft 
addrtffing Him as our Father. This privilege, there- 
fore, confifts in the allowance and liberty of approaching 
the Lord at all times, and for all things ; of entrufting 
all our concerns in his hands, and of confidering them 
all as managed by him, in perfect wifdom, truth, and 
love, for our prelent and everlafting good. Indeed the 
very difpofition, produced by the Spirit of adoption, is our 
privilege, and conftitutes the feal, the Jirji- fruits, and 
the earnejl of our felicityf . 

IV. The believer has the firmed ground of confi- 
dence, that all his temporal wants will be fupplied, and 
that every thing, which can poffibly conduce to his advan- 
tage, will be conferred on him by his Almighty Friend 
and Father. We are not indeed authorifed to expect, 
or allowed to defire, great things for ourfelves in this 
word : and it is evident to every reflecting perfon, that 
power, wealth, or confiant profperity have fo great a ten- 



* John, viii. 41....47. f Rom. viii. 14....17. Gal. iv. 6, 7: 



252 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVII. 

dency to excite the envy or enmity of others, and to in- 
flame the corrupt pnffions of their pofleflbrs, that they 
add nothing to the real enjoyment of life. He, who 
Bath the fecurity of the promife and providence of God, 
is far more fur e never to want any thing really good for 
him ; than they are, who poiTcfs the greateft wealth t 
for riches often ftrangely " make themfelves wings and 
■* flee away ;" but the unchangeable God, the pofleflbr 
of heaven and earth, who has all hearts in his hands, 
can never be unable to provide for thofe that truft in him. 
" Bread fhall be given you, your water (hall be fure." 
" Verily ye fhall be fed." " Your Father knoweth 
" what things ye have need of •" and " a little, which 
" the righteous hath, is better than the riches of 
lf many wicked*." It is then, the privilege and 
duty of every believer, to " caft all his cares and bur- 
" dens upon the Lord," " to take no anxious care for 
< ( the morrow •, to reft fatisfied that u the Lord will pro- 
« vide;" and to remember that " he hath faid, I will ne- 
" ver leave thee nor forfake thee." M Having food and 
" raiment, let us therewith be content ;" and goon with 
the duty of our ftation without any more folicitude, than 
the child feels, who, when learning his kflbn, or obeying 
the command of his parents, chearfully leaves them to N 
provide him food and raiment, and does not encumber 
his mind with any cares about fuch matters. 

The believer is indeed allowed and required to expect 
a peculiar providential inter pofiiion in all things : he is in- 
ftrucled that not a fparrow falls to the ground without 
the appointment of his Father, and that " the very hairs 
" of his head are all numbered.*' He fhould confider 
the place of his abode as determined, and guarded, by 
the Lord ; and recollect that the holy angels are employ- 
ed to minifter to his good ; that he lies down an.) rifes 
up, goes out and comes in, under this fpecial protection \ 
that no enemies can affiult, no calamity befal, no dan- 
gers fo much as alarm him, except by the appointment 
or permiffion of his Almighty Father, who " makes a 
" hedge about him, and all that he hasf." So that no 

* Fs. xxiii. 1. xxkiv. 8....10. xxx.ii. lxxxiv, 11. Matt. vi. 
24....o4. Phi], iv. 6, 7\ 1 Pet, v, 7, f Job, i, 10, ii. 3«.,.f. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer. 253 

famines, earthquakes, peftilences, fires, wars, maffacres, 
prrfecutions, or other dreaded cataftrophe, can hurt or 
fhould alarm him : for he is fafe, and fhall be guided, 
fupported, and guarded in all places and circumftances, 
till the appointed period of his pilgrimage arrive ; and 
then he will be conveyed home to his Father's houfe, in 
the beft way which infinite WifJom and everlafting 
Love can devife. Thus " godlinefs is profitable for ail 
« things, having the promife of the life that now is, and 
« of that which is to come*.'' 

V. Communion with God is the believer's privilege. 
We " have boldnefs to enter into the hoiieft through 
M the blood of Jefus," and to " come boldly to the throne 
u of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find help in 
« every time of needf." We are directed to afk what 
we will, and afiured that it fhall be given us ; for " the 
" prayer of the upright is the Lord's delight^:." So that 
we may come, with humble confidence into the imme- 
diate prefence of our reconciled Father,upon a mercy-feat, 
whenever we will ; we may prefent whatever petitions 
our wants and circumftances fuggeft : we may multiply, 
repeat, and enforce them with all importunity and ear- 
neftnefs ; we may urge every plea, and ufe all freedom j. 
we may be allured of a cordial welcome in fo doing ; and 
we may confidently expect, that all our petitions will be 
anfwered and exceeded, in that fenfe and way, which 
moft conduce to our real good§. Thus we fpeak to our 
gracious God, in prayers, Amplications, praifes, and 
thankfgivings, notwithstanding that we are " but finful 
** duft and afhes|| :" and our condefcending Father 
fpeaks to us by his word, counfelling, warning, iriftrucl:- 
ing, encouraging, or reproving us, and thus fhewing us 
the way in which we mould walk, and the thing that we 
fhould do •, he evinces his regard to us by anfwering our 
prayers, and manifeiting his care of us in numerous in- 



* Job. v. 19,...2?\ Ps. xci, Rom. viii, 28. 1 Cor, iii. 21..., 23. 
1 Tim, iv. 8. f Heb. iv. 16. x. 19.. ..22. + Prov. xv. 8. 
M ;rk, xi. 24. Luke xi. 5....13. John xiv. 13, 14, xv. 7, 16. 
xvi. 23, 24. Jam, L 5. 1 John iii, 21. 22, v, 14 7 15, § £ph. 
.iii, 20, ||Gen, xviii. 23,.„33, 
Y 2 



254 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay XVIL 

ftances •, he difcovers his glorious perfections to us, and 
gracious prefence with us, and " caufes his goodnefs to 
" pafs before us ;" and he gives us, fometimes even in 
deep affliction, " a peace of God, which paffeth all un- 
« derftanding, keeping our hearts and minds by Chrift 
" Jefus." For v truly our fellowfhip is with the Father 
«« and with his Son Jefus Chrift," whatever men may 
think or fay of fuch pretentions : and this happy experi- 
ence efTentially differs from the unfcriptural prefumption 
of enthuuafts and hypocrites •, though ftrangers to fuch 
joys do and will confound them together*. Thus the 
believer, having returned to God, walks with him in his 
ordinances^ commandments, and providential difpenfa- 
tions; taftes his love in every comfort, fubmits to his 
wife and fatherly corrections in every crofs, and deems 
it his privilege to refer every thing to his will and glory : 
and the Lord walks with him as his Companion, Guard, 
and Guide through life, is with him in the valley of the 
fhadow of death, and then takes him home to his more 
immediate prefencef. 

VI. The believer experiences the confolations of the 
Holy Spirit, in proportion to his faith, Simplicity, dili- 
gence, and watchfulnefs. This holy Comforter, (who 
dwells in every believer as in a temple that he hathcon- 
fecrated to himfelf,) irradiates the mind by his facred in- 
fluences, to fee the things that belong to the perfon, 
love, and favation of Chrift ; " and to know the blef- 
" lings that are freely given him of GodJ." He aflifts 
the memory in recollecting the words of the Saviour : 
and he invigorates faith, caufes hope to abound, enlivens 
the mind with love and gratitude, and thus commu- 
nicates a fatisfying and fanctifying joy, the earneft and 
pledge of heavenly felicity. This counterbalances all 
outward trials, diflipates forrow, fortifies the foul againft 
temptation, reconciles it to fuffering and felf-deniai, and 
animates it for every fervice. It is the privilege of the 
believer exclufively to experience, relifh, and value fuch 
joys j and to diitinguifh them from the joy of the hypo- 



* 1 John i. 3, f Gen. v. 24. 

\ John xvi. 25, 16. 1 Cor. ii. 11, 12. Eph. i. 17, 18. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer 255 

crite, which fprings from ignorance, pride, and preemp- 
tion : we are, therefore, exhorted " to rejoice in the 
" Lord always '" and all our enfeebling 'dejection and for- 
row are the confequences of living below our privilege, 
and coming fhort of our duty, in this as well as in other 
refpects. Efpecially we forfeit and mar this joy, when we 
grieve the Spirit by our mifconduct, or quench his holy 
influences by cleaving to the world, or by inexpedient 
felf indulgence* : fo that the Apoftle exhorts Chriftians, 
" not to be drunk with wine wherein is excefs," (from 
which others feek exhilaration, and relief in trouble,) 
« but to be filled with the Spiritf /' 

VII. It is the believer's privilege " to be kept by the 
« power of God, through faith unto falvation^.'' The 
actual comfort of this privilege muft indeed depend on 
our fcriptural evidence that we are true believers ; as 
other men can perievere in nothing except either un- 
godlinefs or hypocrify. So long, therefore, as a man 
doubts whether he be indeed regenerate, he cannot take 
the comfort of God's promifes ; for he cannot know that 
they belong to him ; and whatever tends to bring his 
character into fufpicion muft proportionally interrupt his 
confident hope of final victory and triumph ; which is 
only intended to encourage the valiant foldier, when ftre- 
nuoufly reiifting his enemies and " fighting the good 
" fight of faith." The words of our Lord, however, 
are decifive on the point in queftion. " My iheep hear 
<J my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ; and 
" I give unto them eter al life ; and they pall never pe- 
" rifi; neither mall any one pluck them out of my hand. 
My Father which gave them me is greater than all, 
and no one («<W) is able to pluck them out of my Fa- 
ther's hand. I and my Father are One." " The wa- 
ter that I fhall give him (hall be in him a well of iva- 
- c terfprlnging tip unto everlafling lifeJ" «• Fear not lit- 
" tie flock, tor it is your Father's good pleafure to give 
« you the kingdom^/' The Apoftle allures us, that nc- 
" thing fhall ever feparate believers from the love of God 



i ( 



tc 



I ph, iv. 50, 1 T .ess v- 19. f Eph. v. lb, f 1 Pet, i. >, 
§ Luke, xu, oX* John, iv,l4, x,2?«.«3'J, 



256 On the Privileges enjoyed Essay X VII. 

" in Chrift* ," and enumerates a variety of thofe parti- 
culars, which principally endanger them, in the moft 
energetic and triumphant language, in confirmation of 
his ( oclrine. The Lord hath " made with them an 
" everlafting covenant," and hath engaged, that" he 
" wdl not turn aw y from them to do them good ; and 
™ that he will put his fear into their hearts, that they 
" fhall not depart from himf :" and this covenant he 
hath ratified with an oath for the ftrong confolation of 
the heirs of promif- ; even the oath, which he fware to 
Abraham, that in blefling he would blefs him, notwith- 
ftanding all pr.ffible obitruclions and objedtiofiSj. In- 
deed, " having chofen them in Chrift before the foun- 
" dationofthe world, and quickened them by his grace 
" when dead in fin ;" it might reafonably be expected, 
that the fame fovereign and everlafting mercy would in- 
fluence him to keep them to complete falvation, by 
flrength proportioned to all their trials and temptations. 

We might likewife mention as feparatc privileges the 
aflurance " that all things work together for good to 
** them that love God," and combine to promote their 
everlafting advantage, however painful or humiliating 
for the prefent ; fo that they are more than conquerors 
over every enemy, and enriched by all their affaults ; 
that death is their friend, and his dreadful ftroke proves 
their greateft ,gain§ : and that the Everlasting God 
is their Portion, and their all-fufficient and all-fa- 
tisfying felicity. 

But here filent contemplation Deft becomes us ; and 
with this we will clofe thefe hints on a fubject that is 
nearly inexhauftibie. Enough has been faid to fhew, 
that true wifdom confifts in leaving, venturing, or fuffer- 
ing, any thing to fecure fuch advantages *, and in giving 
diligence to pofTefs the affurance that they belong to us : 
that, if we lived up to our privileges, ** the joy of the 
*< Lord would be our ftrength" for every fervice ; and 



* Rom, vih, 35.,„39. f 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. Jer. xxxHr8S..„40. Ps. 
ciii. 17. Is. liv. 9, 10,1?. + Ikb, vi. lo...ab § Rom. viii. 
.2b.. ..31. 1 Cor. xv. 53, ...5k. 



Essay XVII. by the True Believer. 25*7 

our chearfulnefs and confcientioufnefs would concur in 
" adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour :" and that 
our dejections arife not from our religion ; but from our 
want of more faith, hope, love, and all thofe things in 
which true godlinefs confifts. 



ESSAY XVIIL 



On the Dispositions , and Char after, peculiar to the 
True Believer. 



W HEN our Lord concluded his pathetic exhorta- 
tions to his difcon folate difciplesjuft before his crua>x- 
ion, by a comprehenfive prayer for them ; he made this 
one of his petitions to the Father in their behalf, " Sanc- 
" tify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth* :" 
an J the Scriptures always reprefent divine truth, as the 
feed In the b liever's heart of every holy difpolition ; the 
graft through which ** the tree is made good and its fruit 
good ;" and the mould into which the foul is caft, and 
from which it receives its form and exact impreffion, as 
the metal is fafhiop* d by the artiU's fkiiif. So that we 
are not only fi jujlifed by faith," but alfo " fanBified by 
" fartrij." The doctrine of Chrirt dwells in the regene- 
rate foul, as an operative transforming principle, produc- 
ing a peculiar ftate of the judgment, difpoiitions, and af- 
fections, in proportion to the degree in which it is under-* 
flood and believed. This may properly be called the 
Chrjftian temper. It is the exact counterpart of the truths 
by which it is produced ; it difcriminates the real believ- 



* John, xvii. 17, f Rom. vu 17. f Acts ? xxv *» 18 « 



258 dispofitions of the Believer. Essay XVIII. 

er from all other men ; and it conftitutes the ftandard of 
our pro6ciency in vital godiinefs, of our u growth m grace, 
M and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus 
" Chriit." Alas, a great part of the acquaintance that 
rnofl of us have formed with the truths of revelation is 
merely notional', and if we do not perceive the genuine 
nature and tendency of the doctrines to which we aflent \ 
they muit fail to exert their transforming efficacy upon 
our hearts. Thus " knowledge puffeth up," even when 
the things known are evidently fuited to produce the 
deeped humility ; and though they never fail to have 
this effect, where they are received by a living faith as the 
nutriment and medicine of the foul. It may, therefore, 
be proper to confider more particularly thofe difpoiitions 
and affections of the mind, which conftitute the appropri- 
ate temper and character of the true believer ; adverting, 
as we proceed, to thofe truths by which they are produc- 
ed and nourished ; and endeavouring to diftinguiih be- 
tween the lamented failures and imperfections of the 
upright, and the allowed and indulged evils of the mere 
hypocrite or felf-deceiver. 

I. Then, Humility may be confldered as moft. eiTential 
to the Chriftian temper, and as radical to every othe^r 
part of it. Thte believer's principles continually prefent 
before his mincf the greatnefs and majefty of God, and 
the comparative meannefs of all creatures ; which can- 
not fail to abate his natural propenfity to felf-importance 
and feif-exaltation, an ) to make him feel himfelf to be as 
nothing before the infinite Creator. Having received 
his being, and all he is and pcrTeiTes, from the hand of 
the Lord, and holding every thn.g in the moft abfolute 
dependence on him \ he cannot confidently « glory as 
" though he had not received them." He knows that 
every benefit lays him under obligation ; that every ta- 
lent demands a proportionable improvement ; and that he 
muit ihortly be turned out of his ftewardfhip, and requir- 
ed to give an account of it ; and he is confeious, that he 
has not made fuitable returns to his Benefactor, or due 
improvement of his talents. This teaches him, that all 
thofe things of which he has been tempted to be proud, 
ought to cover him with fhame, and increafe his humili- 
ty \ for they have all proved occafions of. additional 



Essay XVIII. peculiar to the True Believer. 259 

tranlgreflioni-, and thus call upon him to repent, and de- 
precate the wrath of his offended Benefactor. 

His principles alfo lead him to compare his conduct 
with the perfecl: law of God, and not with the exam- 
ples and maxims of this finful world •, and to condemn 
every deviation from that drift and fpiritual rule, even 
in thought or inclination, as fin, and as deferving the 
Lord's difpleaure and abhorrence : fo that every part 
of his pair, and prefent behaviour fuggeits to him rea- 
fous for felf-abafement; for fin mixes wHth and defiles 
even his bed duties, and he feels his need of repentance, 
of mercy, and of the atoning blood, in every action 
of his life. He is deeply convinced, that " it is of 
*« the Lord's mercies he is not confumed ;" all his hopes 
of acceptance and happinefs fpring from faith in the 
Lamb of God, and in his expiatory facrifice ; and he 
receives every comfort, not only as the gift of the Lord's 
bounty, but as purchafed by his Redeemer for an hell- 
deferving finner : and how can he, who lives under 
the influence of thefe principles, be proud of his pof- 
fefiions or attainments ? He dares not venture even to 
the mercy-feat of his forgiving God, except in the 
name of his beloved Son; and he deems it a precious 
favour, that he may be allowed thus to" pray for mercy 
and falvation. Indeed he cannot in general but per- 
ceive that he diners from ungodly men, and from him- 
felf in former years •, but he knows that this difference 
is the efrecl: of a divine influence on his mind : fo that 
he fees abundant reafon for thankfulnefs on this ac- 
count, but none for pride and felf-complacency. Nay, 
he is fenfible that he hath been kept from grofs immoral- 
ities, through which numbers are made equally mifchiev- 
ous and wretched, by a divine interposition, in various 
ways redraining him from lidening to temptation, or 
following the devices of his own heart : fo that his pre- 
fervation from the mod dedru£Hve enormities is rafher 
an occafion for gratitude, than for felf-preferencej vhi'.ft 
his mifconduct in lefs fcandalous indances feems to him 
to be bafer, when compared with his advantages, than 
the crimes of the unhappy outcads from human fociety. 
As he frequently and carefully views himfelf in the 
glafs of the holy law, and diligently compares his whole 



260 On the Dispositions, bfc. Essay XVIII. 

behaviour with the perfect example of Chrift ; as he 
attentively confiders his obligations and opportunities, 
and examines ftri&ly his motives, affections, thoughts, 
words, and works \ as he is fevere in judging himfelf, 
and candid in eftimating the conduct of his brethren : 
fo he is unavoidably led, in his bed hours, to " efteem 
" others better than himfelf," and " in honour to pre- 
" fer them*." Thus he is habitually difpofed to take 
the loweft place *, inftead of ambitioufly alpiring to pre- 
eminence, which always fefults from the want of con- 
fiftency with evangelical principles. He is alfo accuf- 
tomed to entertain a deep fenfe of his own ignorance, 
and pronenefs to miftake ; for his experience and ob- 
servation confirm the declarations of Scripture in this 
refpect. : hence originates a teachable difpofition ,• a wil- 
lingnefs to " receive the kingdom of God as a little 
" child," and " to become a fool" in order to obtain 
true wifdom. The moft eminent faints have, therefore, 
always moft fennbiy felt, and frankly owned, their 
want of wifdom •, and been moft ready to afk it of Godf , 
and to enquire his will at every ftep, with the great'eft 
{implicity and fervency. And though the well inftru&ed 
believer will not call any man father upon earth, or 
implicitly adopt all the inftrucl:ions of any uninfpired 
perfon, but will bring every opinion and counfel to the 
touchftone of God's word : yet he will be always learn- 
ing, even from his inferiors, hi^ enemies, or falfe ac- 
cufers ; being glad of a little additional light on his 
path from any quarter. And whilft he confiders the 
written word as the complete rule of truth and duty, 
and decidedly rejects both the traditions of men, and 
the effuilions of enthufiafm : he will ever feel his need 
of divine teaching to prepare his mind for receiving and 
ufmg the, light of revelation, whatever means he em- 
ploy in order to underftand it *, and will continue a 
learner to the end of his days, as his only fecurity 
againft the artifices of Satan, and the devices of falfe 
teachers. 



Roiu. xii. 30. Phil. ii. 3. t Jatm i. 5. 



Essay XVIII. pecuVar to the True Believer, 261 

In like manner the confiftent Chriitian is humbly fen- 
fible of his own nveaktiefs ; and, when actually influen- 
ced by his principles, he will not dare to fay, " though 
" all men deny thee, yet will not I ;" but rather, " hold 
" thou me up, and I (hall be fafe ;". " lead me not into 
" temptation 5" u hold up my goings in thy ways, that 
" my footfteps flip not." Experience hath convinced 
him, " that when he is weak, then is he ftrong •," and 
that, " when he thinks he ftands," he has moil caufe 
to u take heed left he fhould fall :" fo that he is con- 
fcious, he has no power in himfelf, either to refift 
temptations, endure tribulations, face dangers, or per- 
form duties ; and that he can only U be ftrong in the 
" Lord, and in the power of his might*." Thus fim- 
plicity of dependence on God for teaching, affiftance, 
protection, forgivenefs, acceptance, fanclification, final 
perfeverance, and complete falvation, are produced and 
maintained : the believer becomes, more and more, 
poor in fpirit, and a conftant penfioner on the Lord in 
all circumftances, and on all occafions. — Indeed, even 
this peculiarity of the true believer partakes of that 
imperfection, which pervades his whole character ; and 
he often betrays and is humbled for the pride of his 
heart, and continually laments his pronenefs to felf-ex- 
altation : yet, all " boafting is" habitually " excluded," 
from his heart and lips ; /with felf-preference, felf-ad- 
miration, and contempt of others. In fhort all the 
varied workings of ambition, arrogance, infolence, vain- 
glory, and envy, with the numerous evils of which 
pride is the prolific parent, are oppofed, hated, morti- 
fied, and crucified ; and a lowly, felf-abafed, contrite, 
and fubmiiTive fpirit is gradually formed, both in refpecl; 
of God, and his brethren and neighbours. Every part 
of the Chriftian temper and character depends on 
this, and fprings from it as from its proper root : and 
that perfon is not much converfant in the Scriptures, 
*who has not obferved, that more is there fpoken in ap- 
probation of this difpofition of mind, and that more 
encouraging promifes are made to it, than any other 



2 Cor. xii. £, 10. Eph. vi. 10. Fhil. iv. 13. 
Z 



262 On the Dispositions, bfc. Essay XVIII. 

part of that " holinefs, without which no man fhall 
" fee the Lord j" for " He refifteth the proud, and 
" giveth his grace to the humble*." All notions, gifts, 
and experiences, therefore, which confift with allowed, 
prevailing, and habitual pride, ambition, felf-exaltation, 
boafting, and contempt of others, are radically defec- 
tive ; and give caufe to fufpecl:, that they are wholly 
detached from the power of godlinefs, and the fpecial 
grace of the regenerating Spirit of (Thrift, however 
fplendid they may appear in the eyes of fuperficial ob- 
fervers. 

II. Another eiTential branch of the Chriftian temper 
may be comprifed in the word fubmiffion. " Submit 
<4 yourfelves to God," fays the Apoftle ; and that view 
of the divine perfections, law, government, and grace, 
which fprings from evangelical principles, tends to coun- 
teract and crucify the felf-will, and defire of independ- 
ence, which predominate in our fallen nature, and are 
the fource of all our rebellion againil our Maker. 
This fubmiffion is diametrically oppofite to the difpofi- 
tion of men in general ; and in its full extent, cannot 
be produced by any other principles than thofe of the 
holy Scriptures. The efficacy of divine truth upon the 
believing mind tends to produce a wiliingnefs to fubtnit 
the underflanding to the teaching of God: and inftead of 
hankering after the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowl- 
edge, or counting it more pleafant to difcover matters 
for ourfelves by the fufficiency of our own powers ; it 
leads us to fubmit as the fchclar to his tutor, to believe 
what the Lord teftifies, and to reft fatisfied with it ; 
leaving fecret things which belong to him, and thank- 
fully ufing revealed things as the " light of our feet, 
«< and the lantern of our paths." The fame principles 
tend to produce fubmiffion to the will and authority of God y 
deeming his fervice perfect freedom, his commandments 
not grievous, his yoke eafy, and his ways the paths of 
peace and pleafantnefs. Submiffion to his righteoufnefs 
fprings from the fame fource : and the man, who truly 
believes. the word of God, will gradually become more 



* Is. Ivii. 15. lxvi. 2. Luke, xviii. 14. Jam.iv. 6. 1 Pet. v. 5. 



Essay XVIII. peculiar to the True Believer. 263 

and more unreferved in allowing his juftice in the fen- 
tence of condemnation which he hath pafTed upon Tin- 
ners in general, and upon him in particular. In con- 
fequence of this he will TiSofubmitio his Jovereign ivifdom 
and righteoufnefs, in the appointed method of faving 
Turners, and in all things relating to it : whilft unbelief 
proportionally vents itfelf in objections, which involve 
the mod daring blafphemy. This will connect with 
fubmiffion to God, in refpeci of his injlituted ordinances, as 
means of grace appointed by him, to be made efficacious 
by his blefiipg ; and as acts of worfhip, by which we 
are required to render him in a meafure the honour due 
to his name. And finally, the fame principles tend to 
produce habitual fabmtffion to his providence in refpeft of 
our outward fituation and provifion ; and of thofe ap- 
pointments and regulations, by which he hath been 
pleafed to reltrain vice, and to promote peace and good 
order in human fociety ; i( giving honour to whom hon- 
" our is due," " and fubmitting. to every ordinance of 
" man for the Lord's fake." — This fubmiffion is a duty 
of vail extent : and the difpofition habitually to aim at 
it, and, when we have failed, to return to it in every 
particular, is peculiar to thofe who are born of God : 
while ail the opposition of our hearts to it arifes from the 
remaining pride and felf-will of our fallen nature, and 
is a proof that we have not hitherto been fully influen- 
ced by our principles. 

But patience, refignation, contentment, and acquiefcence 
in jhe ivill of Chd refpe£r.ing us, con ftitu te fo important 
a part of the Chriftian temper, that they require a more 
particular confederation : and, when genuine, they are 
fo invariably connected with fubmiilion to God in all 
other refpetts, that, wherever any appearances of them 
are found wholly feparated from it, we may be fure 
they are mere counterfeits, the refult of natural infenfi- 
biiity, affccSted apathy, thoughtlefs indolence, or pre- 
fumptuous obduracy. Evangelical principles fo effec- 
tually inculcate the doclrine of our total unworthinefs, 
and that we all enjoy more than we deferve, and fuffer 
lefs than what is due to our fins \ that, as far as we are 
influenced by them, they muft filence our rebellious 
murmurs and repinings againft God. They lead us 



264 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XVIIL 

likewife fo entirely to trace every event to his appoint- 
ment, as the firft caufe of all our trials ; that they tend 
directly to counteract our propenfity to defpife his 
chaftenings, or to vent our uneafinefs under trouble in 
expreffions of anger againft inftruments and fecond 
caufes. They give us fuch a ground for confidence in 
the mercy, truth, power, and love of God, and for the 
animating hope of future happinefs, as fuffice to fup- 
port the foul, and to preferve us from fainting or def- 
ponding under divine rebukes: whilft the perfuafion 
that infinite wifdom and everlafling love have chofen, 
and will over-rule, every event for our more important 
good, is fuited to produce a rational, reflecting, and 
abiding acquiefcence in the will of our heavenly Father. 
The Lord hath many wife and kind reafons for allotting 
his people thofe things, which they would never have 
chofen for themfelves : and if they knew the whole in- 
tent of his moft painful difpenfations, they would cer- 
tainly approve of them ; for every afHiction is medicinal 
to the foul, and conducive to its fanctification. Thus 
the Chriftian's principles lead him to confider his ilation, 
abode, employment, provifion, trials, lofles, difap- 
ments, and vexations, as the ivill of God concerning him : 
and this induces him to acquiefce in them. He « learns" 
in the fchool of Qhrift, " in whatever ftate he is, there- 
lt with to be content j" and, as far as he acts confiftent- 
ly with his judgment, he views every difpenfation in a 
favourable light, and realizes the paradox, " forrowful 
** yet always rejoicing." He feeks comfort from God 
when other comforts are withdrawn : and he is taught 
to wait the Lord's time for deliverance, by " patient 
" continuance in well doing ;" without ufing any finful 
expedients, or deferting his path or work to efcape the 
crofs. He looks for trouble as long as he continues on 
earth : he efteems fin to be a greater evil than affliction : 
and in the character, fufFerings, patience, and glory of 
his divine Saviour, he finds every inftruction explained, 
and every argument enforced, by which refignation, 
confidence in God, and joy in tribulations, are incul- 
cated. Indeed in this, as in all other refpects, the be- 
liever is confcious that he comes far fhort of his perfect 
rule and example ; and this covers him with ihame, and 



Essay XVIII. peculiar to the True Believer. 2P5 

excites his earned prayers for mercy and grace : but his 
views tend to render him chearful at all times, and in all 
circumftances ; as they give the fulleft aiTurance, that 
every event will conduce to the final and eternal good of 
all who love God : fo that all the difcouragement, def- 
pondency, and difquietude of religious people, fpring 
from other caufes, and are directly contrary to their 
principles. An humble confidence in God, in refpecl: 
of the future, is alfo of great importance : but this hath 
been particularly confidered as one of the believer's privi- 
leges*) and need not further be difcufTed in this place : 
for indeed our duties and our privileges are feldom more 
diftinct., than the fame objecT: viewed in different lights, 
or the fame idea expreffed by different terms. 

III. The fear of God is another branch of the Chris- 
tian temper, which evidently refults from the principles 
of revelation. There is indeed a liavifh fear which hath 
torment, and which is caft out by holy love as far as it 
prevaiisf : but we here fpeak of that reverential fear of 
the divine majefty, authority, holinefs, and glory, 
'which produces folemn awe, humble adoration, and a 
ferious reflecting frame of mind ; which leads a man 
habitually to acl; as in the prefence of the all-feeing and 
heart-fearching God, and influences him to univerfal 
confcientioufnefs, even in his moil fecret actions, and 
in refpetT. of his inmoft thoughts ; which teaches him to 
regard with profound veneration the name, word, 
works, counfels, decrees, and judgments of the Lord ; 
which helps to conftitute the upright, fpiritual w T or- 
fhipper in all his ordinances ; and which induces the be- 
liever to fear the frown, and defire the favour, of God 
above all other things. This " fear of God" is the 
effect, of fpecial grace, grows in harmony with holy love, 
and will be perfected with it, when the Chriftian ihall 
join the company and worfhip of Seraphim before the 
throne^:. Every truth of revelation concurs in giving 
us thofe views of God, and of ourfelves, that are fuited 
to produce this reverential fpirit : the total want of it, 



* Essay xvii. f 1 John, iv. 18. 

$ Ps. lxxxix. 7. Is. vi. 1...8. Heb. xii. 28. 
Z 2 



266 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XVIII. 

therefore, muft evince that the high affe&ions of many 
perfons are falfe, and their overbearing confidence un- 
warranted : and that man muft be very imperfectly ac- 
quainted with evangelical principles, or but partially in- 
fluenced by them, who is greatly deficient in it. 

IV. The love of God is effential to the Chriftian tem- 
per : but it muft be very briefly difcuffed in this place ; 
as in many things it coincides with the firft table of the 
law which hath been already explained*. The truths 
of the gofpel, when received by living faith into the re- 
generate heart, are wonderfully fuited to excite and in- 
creafe admiring love of the divine perfections, as dis- 
played in all the works of God ; but efpecially in that 
of redemption by Jefus Chrift : hence arife fervent de- 
fires after that felicity, which is found in contemplating 
his glory and enjoying his love. The foul begins " to 
(i be athirft for God ;" and in proportion to the preva- 
lence of this holy affection for the Supreme Good, all 
inferior objects lofe their attractions : fo that when the 
believer fears, left he fhould not obtain the happinefsof 
the beatific vifion, but mould at laft be baniilied from 
the prefence of God, he can take no pleaure in worldly 
profperity : when his communion with the Lord is in- 
terrupted, all other joys feem infipid : but the light of 
his countenance gilds every object, alleviates every 
trouble, and enhances every comfort. Lively gratitude, 
for mercies ineftimable, inexpreffible, and unmerited, 
keeps pace with his hope of acceptance : and he cannot 
butmoft ^arneftly enquire, "what he {hall render to 
(( the Lord for all his benefits ?" The fame views pro- 
duce zeal for the glory of God, and the. honour of the 
gofpel : and the believer is habitually difpofed to confid- 
er what effe£t his conduct may have on the minds of 
men in this refpeel: ; whence humiliation, cireumfpec- 
tion, and care to improve his talents, muft always arife. 
In all thefe affections and difpofitions there will be a 
particular regard to the Perfon of Chrift, as One with 
the Father and the divine Spirit, and the equal Object 
of all love, confidence, honour, gratitude, and adora- 



* Essay iy. 



Essay XVIII. peculiar to the True Believer. 267' 

tion* ; and an habitual difpofition to meditate on his fuf- 
ferings and love, to rejoice in his exaltation, and in the 
fuccefs of his gofpel ; and to defire that his name 
mould every where be known, trufted and loved, and < 
that his people mould profper and be happy. This love', 
ofChriJi is the grand conftraining principle of all evangel- 
ical obedience and devoted fubje£tion to him who 
bought us with his blood : and the feveral difpofitions 
towards God, which have been enumerated, conliitute 
the Jpirit of adoption ; for when we have in this manner 
the temper of children towards God, the Holy Spirit 
bears witnefs, according to the Scripture, that he is our 
Father, and that we are his fons and daughters, the re- 
generate and adopted heirs of his heavenly inheritance. 
V. The true believer is fpiritually minded': that is, he 
is difpofed to feek his happinefs in fpiritual things, be- 
caufe he is capable of rehfhing and delighting in them. 
Other men may have a talk of religion ; but the world 
is their element, in which they live as much as their 
confciences will allow them : whereas the believer " has 
" tailed that the Lord is gracious ;" " he remembers his 
'* love more than wine 5" u his foul has been fatisfied, 
** as with marrow and fatnefs, whilft he praifed the 
" Lord with joyful lips." In proportion, therefore, as 
he a£ts confiftently with his principles; he either finds 
joy and pleafure in communion with God and in doing 
his will, or he mourns after him. He feels that he muft 
be miferable, unlefs " God his exceeding joy" vouch- 
fafe to make him happy : he ftparates from many com- 
panies and purfuits, to fpend his time in the clofet, in 
the houfe of God, or in the communion of the faints; 
not only from a fenfe of duty, but in order to enjoy his 
mod valued pleafures, and to avoid whatever may inter- 
rupt them : and when he cannot find comfort in this 
way, and is tempted to feek it in the world, he is ready- 
to fay, " Lord to whom fhall I go ? thou haft the words 
" of eternal life." This is an eflential part of the chrif- 
tian temper : all attachment to worldly trifles arifes from 
our not being duly influenced by our principles ; and as 

* Essays vi. vii. xiii. 



268 On the Dispositions, $3 V. Essay XVIII f 

far as we act confidently, we (hall attend to the lawful 
concerns, and ufe the allowed comforts of life, in a 
fan£tified and holy manner. 

But a very copious fubjecSt yet remains : the temper of 
the believer towards his brethren and neighbours is 
equally worthy of our attention. Many things indeed, 
which might be here adduced, will occur to us, when 
relative duties come under confideration. It is, however, 
too copious and important a topic to be comprifed in a 
very fmall Compafs : it will therefore be more expedient 
to annex a fecond part of this EfTay, and to conclude at 
prefent with fome brief obfervations on what hath been 
faid. 

i. Then, every attentive and impartial reader mult 
perceive, even from this imperfect (ketch, that revela- 
tion \s principally intended to lead men to proper thoughts 
of God, and fuitable difpofitions and affections towards 
him. They, who fuppofe the moral precepts, which 
relate to the conduct of men tpwards one another, to 
be the molt important and valuable part of Scripture j 
certainly miftake the leading intent of it : for godlinefs, 
(or a difpbfition to behave towards God, according to 
the glory of his perfections, and our relations and obli- 
gations to him -,) is the firit object both in the com- 
mandments of the law, and in the doctrines and pro- 
mifes of the gofpel-, and the fins, againft which the 
Lord always exprerTes the moil vehement indignation, 
(fuch as atheifm, idolatry, apoftacy, unbelief, enmity 
againft him, contempt and forgetfulnefs of him, pro- 
fanenefs, and blafphemy,) may be habitually committed 
by men of good moral character, who are honeft fin- 
cere, benevolent, temperate, or peaceable, from felflfh 
principles. Thefe things, 'however, will not excufe the 
hatred and neglect of their infinitely glorious Creator' 
and Benefactor. Indeed a man cannot be godly who is 
not moral: becaufe we are required to exprefs our re- 
gard to God, by behaving well to our brethren and 
neighbours. 

2 The principal value even of divine truth confiftsin 
its fan£tifying efficacy on the minds of believers. Many 
" imprifon the truth in unrighteoufnefs :" even the doc- 
trines of the gofpel are often profeffed and contended 



Essay XVIII. peculiar to the True Believer. 269 

for, with fuch arrogance, irreverence, and fiercenefs, 
that it is plain they are not principles in the heart meliorat- 
ing the difpofition ; but mere notions in the underftand- 
ing, ferving as an occafion of gratifying malignant paf- 
fions, advancing worldly interests, or rendering a man 
confpicuous amongft his neighbours : and fenfible men, 
obferving this, imbibe ftrong and fatal prejudices againft 
the truth, through the manifeft mifcondud: of fuch ad- 
vocates for it. 

3. Even the fmalleft degree, in which the doctrines 
of the gofpel operate as principles transforming the foul 
into their holy nature, fuffices indeed to prove that they 
have been received with a meafure of living faith : yet 
the Lord hath fo arranged his plan, that various circum- 
fiances concur, in preventing the believer from deriving 
a ftrong fcriptural aflurance from a feeble effecl: of truth 
upon his mind. But in proportion as our principles 
induce us habitually to " exercife ourfelves unto godli- 
*« nefs," the certainty of the change becomes evident ; 
our faith is proved to be living and to work by love, 
and the holy Spirit thus witnelfes with our fpirits that 
we are the children of God : yet this generally connects 
with deep humiliation, in refpe£t of the fmall degree in 
which we are fanc~r.ified. 

4. Finally, our rule is perfect, and grace teaches us 
to aim at perfection : but we are dill in a ftate of war- 
fare and imperfection, in which " repentance towards 
«« God, and faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift" will conti- 
nue to be neceffary. " BlefTed," then, " are they, who 
M hunger and thirft after righteoufnefs \ for they," and 
they only, fhall be eternally fatisfied. 



ESSAY XIX. 

The Subjecl continued. 



IN ftating with brevity, yet with fome degree of 
precilion, the peculiarities of the Chriftian temper and 
character, as produced by the feed of divine truth re- 
ceived into the heart by living faith, we fhall fometimes 
be led to deduce coincident parts of them from different 
principles ; fome things therefore which were touched 
upon in the former EfTay, may be here again refumed 
- in another connection. This will efpecially be perceiv- 
ed in relationto that fubje£t, with which I fhall intro- 
duce the delineation of the Chriftian temper, as it more 
particularly refpe&s our brethren and neighbours ; viz. 
I. Indifference to the world and the things of the world* : 
Patience, contentment, gratitude, and chearfulnefs have 
been fhewn to be the genuine effect: of that -confidence 
in God and fubmiftion to his will, which arife from a 
real belief of the doctrines contained in the holy Scrip- 
tures : but they receive a collateral fupport alfo from 
jult views of the vanity of all earthly things, and the im- 
portance of eternity ; whilft thefe are likewife efTential 
to a proper frame of mind and tenor of conduct towards 
our neighbours. For what is moil productive of immo- 
rality and mifchief among mankind ? Does not an inor- 
dinate eagernefi in the purfuit of worldly objects occnfion a 
vail proportion of the crimes and miferies that fill the 
earth ? This has not only led men idolatroufly to forfake, 
and wilfully to rebel againft God : but it has alfo 
prompted them to become the oppreflbrs and murderers 



* 1 John ii. 15... .If, 



Essay XIX. On the Dispositions, &c. 271 

of each other, in every age and nation ; and thus to fill 
the earth with " lamentation, and mourning> and woe !" 
Nor can it reafonably be expected that any effectual rem- 
edy will ever be applied to thefe evils ; unlefs men can 
be generally convinced, that the objects of their fierce 
contentions are mere " vanity and vexation of fpirit," 
and that nobler bleftings rre attainable. This has been 
fo obvious to men of reflection, that many fedts of phi- 
losophers, and the inventors of various fuperftitions, 
have in this refpect manifeftly propofed the fame end as 
Chriftianity does: but the means have been fo injudi- 
cious and inadequate, that they have only taught men to 
facrifice one lull to another ; and to deny fenfuality or 
avarice, that they might more advantageoufly gratify the 
lull of dominion, or thirft for the applaufe of men. 

But when the Apoftle exclaimed ; " God forbid that 
" I fhould glory fave in the crofs of our Lord Jefus 
f? Chrift ;" he fubjoined, « by whom the world is cru- 
M cified unto me, and I unto the world*." The world 
and every thing in it ; even the " luft of the flcfh, the 
"luft of the eye, and the pride of life j" and whatever 
was fuited to gratify the appetites, the fenfes, the avarice, 
the ambition, or vain-glory of man, feemed to him no 
more attractive, than the diftorted defiled countenance 
of a crucified malefactor : while he was alfo entirely vi il- 
ling to be looked upon by all wordly men, with that con- 
tempt, pity, or averfion which fuch an object is fuited to 
infpire. Indeed the doctrines that relate to the incarna- 
tion of Chrift, the birth of Emmanuel in a viable, his 
obfeure education and life of labour till he entered on his 
public miniftry ; his fubfequent poverty, hardfhip,, re- 
proach, and fuffering, till he expired a finlefs facrificeon 
the crofs ; together with the circumMances of his fol- 
lowers, and the treatment they met with, are directly 
fuited to mortify every corrupt affection o£ the human 
heart, and to create an indifference about all thofe ob- 
jects which unbelievers idolize. The doctrine of the 
crofs, when fpiritually understood, gives us fuch a view 
of the deplorable condition into which fin hath plunged 



*,GiU. vi. 14. 



272 On the Disposition, EsV. Essay XIX. 

our (pedes, and of the hopelefs mifery to which the 
moft prosperous ungodly man is every moment expofed ; 
as muft tend to lower all earthly diiiinclions in the be- 
liever's eftimation,; and to break the fatal aflbciation in 
his mmd, between the idea of happinefs, and that of 
wordly profperity : for he cannot but .fee, that a conflu- 
ence of all earthly comforts avail not to preferve the pof- 
feffor from death and hell, nor even to keep out the 
dread of them. That near view likewife, which faith 
prefents to the mind, of the reality and fpeedy approach 
of an eternal and unchangeable ftate, cannot but damp 
his ardour, and abate his affiduity, in purfuing thofe 
things which muft fo foon be left for ever ; whilft the 
fubitantial poffeflions, the incorruptible honours, and the 
unalloyed pleasures, which are propofed to his hope, tend 
to draw off his affections from " things on the earth/' 
and to fix them " on things above, where Chrift fitteth 
«« on the right hand of God*." For as this globe appears 
to us who live on its furface, to be very unequal by the 
interchange of mountains and valleys ; yet could we rife 
above it and view thefe at a diftanee, fuch inequalities 
would appear inconsiderable compared with its vaft mag- 
nitude ; and as we looked down upon it from a ftili 
greater and greater diftanee, they would by degrees en- 
tirely vanilh from our light \ fo, to the carnal mind, the 
difference between rich and poor, prince and beggar, 
feems immenfe *, but in proportion as our judgment and 
affections become fpiritual, the difparity diminishes, till 
the diftinclion feems wholly to difappear. All are^z- 
ners and mortals ; all muft ftand before the impartial tri- 
bunal of God ; all are under condemnation according to 
the law ; all are invited to accept of the lalvation of the 
gofpel ; and all muft be eternally happy or miserable, as 
they are found in the company of believers or of unbe- 
lievers. Thus indifference to the world, and its hon- 
ours, friendihip, wealth, decorations, pomp, fplendour, 
and indulgences, whether of the fenfes, the appetites, or 
the paftijiis of the mind, is the genuine refult of evange- 
lical principles : it is uniformly proportioned to the de- 



* 2 Cor. iv. 18. Col. iii. 1....4. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer. 273 

gree in which we are really influenced bv them : and 
every tendency to covetoufnefs, ambition, or vain-glory; 
and alldiffatisfaction with a mean or precarious provifion, 
or the dehreof things more ornamental, elegant, fafhion- 
abie, or indulgent than thofe which providence hath 
allotted to us, is a proof that we are not fully caft into 
the mould of the truths which we profefs. A Chriftian 
is a ftranger and pilgrim upon earth 5 he wants accom- 
modation during his abode in this foreign land, and his 
journey to his heavenly home ; and he cannot but prefer 
things pleaiant to thofe that are painful : yet this is not 
his object, nor can he confidently loiter, turn afide, or dif- 
quiet himfelf about fuch matters ; much lefs can he feek 
great things, by difobeying his Lord, clouding his own 
profpe&s, difgracing his character, or interrupting his 
comforts. There is indeed a certain place afligned to 
him in fociety ; and perhaps he cannot fill his place with 
propriety, without many externals which are of little va- 
lue, and which many of his brethren have not : but he 
cannot conftjlently glory or rejoice in them, or prefer 
himfelf to others on that account; nay, he will rather 
deem them {hares and encumbrances, which may retard 
his courfe and feduce him into conformity to the world. 
His duty may alfo call him to fill up a fuperior fituation 
in fociety, and to poiTefs authority or wealth, as the (rew- 
ard of God for the good of others •, or he maybe engag- 
ed in any lawful buiinefs : but his principles will prevent 
himr from loving the world, and teach him moderation 
both in the puriuit of apparent advantages, and in the 
ufe of his pofTeflions ; they will difpofe him ro abftain 
from many things which others in fimilar fituations feize 
upon, or indulge in ; to fhun what others deem defer- 
able ; and to coniiderthe conceffions, which he makes to 
the cuftoms ol fociety, rather as a crofs than as a fatis- 
faction. Chriftianity, indeed, is very far from confound- 
ing the different ranks and orders in the community : 
nor does it at all countenance feli-invented aufterities, or 
a morofe rejection of the rational comforts and fatisfac- 
tions of life ; for " the Lord hath given us all things 
" richly to enjoy ;" but it teaches us to T< be fatisfied 
« with fuch things as we have," if thef-be merely « food 
" and raiment," though the meaneft and mod fcanty; to 

A a 



274 On the Dispositions, Ss>V. Essay XIX. 

refrain from every thing inexpedient, as well as from what- 
ever is unlawful ; and not to put any intereftor indulgence 
in competition with the peace and comfort of our weak- 
eft brother. It inftru&s us not to conficter any earthly 
diftinclion, as our riches, adorning, honour, or pleafure, 
but to ufe all things as (trangers that are about to leave 
them j to do all as the Lord's fervants, and to improve 
every advantage as his (rewards ; and thus " whether we 
«* eat or drink, or whatever we do, to do all to the glory 
<e of God." Whenever thefe ends require it, we are call- 
ed upon to deny ourfelves, to forfake all, to acl as if we 
hated our deareit relatives, to part with every earthly 
poirimon, to take up our crols, and even lay down our 
lives for the lake of him who died for us and rofe again : 
and he hath exprefsly declared, that withoutthis difpofi- 
tion, purpofe, and conduct, we cannot be his difciples ; 
and hath given motives and affurances (ufticient to encou- 
rage us to make all thefe facrifkes with cbearfulnefs* : >> 
« Seek ye firft" fays he, " the kingdom of God and his 
i« righteoufneis, and all thefe things (hall be added unto 
youf ;" and he hath given us a warrant to truft him in 
the path of duty, both in refpeel of ourfelves and of all 
that belong to us. 

Our principles likewife teach us to confider this world 
as a barren land and a kene of trouble, and to expect no 
reft in it •, to take matters as we rind them, (except as 
the duty of our (ration may be concerned ;) ana not to. be 
anxious about our condition, though we be poor, or even 
Haves: btcaufe " the fafhion of this world paffeth 
away^:." All difcontent in obfeure and indigent circum- 
ftances, as well as iniblenc^ in prosperity ; all envy of 
the rich or renowned ; all coveting or hankering after 
fomewhat greater, eaiier, or mere abundant ; all eager- 
nefs in purfuing and feeking after worldly advantages ; 
all fangume expectations of thole changes, by which car- 
nal men fancy that the blanks of this world's lottery may 
become prizes ; all inclination to fpend more than w 



: 



* Matt. xvi. S4....26. xix. 29. Luke xiv. 2£w33. 1 Cor. viii. 
12, 13. x. 31. Heb. xiii. 6, 6. f Matt. vi, 31....34. Luke 
xiu 28**m32. J i Cor. vii. 21...,23. 29„..31. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to theTrue Believer. 275 

can afford in things not abfolutely necefTary, or to'appear- 
above our rank in our raiment, habitations, furniture, or 
tables, and to incur debts by thus emulating our fuperi- 
ors 5 all that fhume which we are apt to feel at the dis- 
covery even of honeft frugal poverty ; all our reluctance 
to leave our children to earn their bread by menial la- 
bour, if the Lord be pleafed fo to appoint it; and a 
great many other things which we witnefs around us, and 
m ay be conicious of in ourfelves, are manifeft deviations 
from the Spirit of Chriftianity, inconfiftent with the prin- 
ciples of the gofpel, artd productive of very many evil 
conSequences. It do s-not indeed follow that Such per- 
Sons, as manifeft a degree of thefe carnal propenfities, are 
infmcere \n their profeilion ; but it proves that they have 
but partially under/food the tendency, and experienced 
the efficacy, of the truth. And if any, who contend for 
evangelical doctrines, are wholly Arrangers to this " cruci- 
" fixion to the world," and treat fuch Subjects as low and 
legal ,• without doubt their faith is dead, and their hope 
preiumptuous : for all true Christians lament and 
mourn, that they are no more mortified to the world, 
and indifferent about it's perifhing trifles. 

If. Benevolonce or philanthropy , is an eminent branch, 
of tne ChrifHan temper. The law of t{ loving our neigh- 
(i bour as oiiffelves" is written in the heart of every re- 
generate perfon ; and it is constantly referred to in the 
N. w Teftaittent as the believer's rule of conduct towards 
all men. Our Lord has beautifully illultrated irs exten- 
sive meaning, in the parable or narrative of the good Sa- 
maritan; and he exemplified it in* his besv ficent life, 
and by dying for us when we were ftrangers and ene- 
mies. . Every man, of whatever nation, complexion, or 
religion he may be, is our neighbour > whom we are com- 
manded to love as ourfelves, and to whom we are 10 act 
as we would he fhould act towards us; and this is the 
Subftance of the fecond table of the law*. The truths 
of the gofpel alfo, reflecting the worth of immortal fouls, 
the ruined ftate of the whole human fpecies, the Sove- 
reignty and freenefs of divine grace, the infinite Jjiuffi- 



Essay iv 



276 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XIX. 

ciency of the redemption of Chrift, the love of the F; ther 
in fending his Son to be the Saviour of the world, the 
love of the Son in dying for us, the love of the Spirit in 
quickening us when dead in fin, the poffibility of the 
greater! perfecutor being made partaker of the fame 
grace*, as well as the precepts of our Lord, who enforc- 
ed the fpiritual duties of the law on his difciples by evan- 
gelical motives ', muft influence every one who experi- 
ences their transforming energy, to love his neighbour 
unfeignedly, and to afpire after a more perfect con- 
formity to the holy commandment, and the attractive 
example of his gracious Saviour. Thefe principles tend 
to enlarge the heart in good- will to men j to foften ic 
into compaffion 5 to fubdue envy, enmity, and refent- 
ment ; and to kindle an ardent defire after the prefent 
and future happinefs of the human fpecies, however dif- 
tinguifhed and feparated, or whatever their character and 
conduct towards us may be. This general difpofition 
to " love our neighbour as ourfelves," and to regulate 
that love according to the rules of God's word) compre- 
hends all the various affections which belong to the feve- 
ral relations of life ; for thefe, when rational and legiti- 
mate, are only modifications of benevolence, or emana- 
tions from it, in conformity to the providential will of 
God, and in obedience to his commandments. In like 
manner the fpecial love of our brethren, or fellow Chris- 
tians, 'refults from the fame general principle : for be- 
lievers are related to each other more nearly than to any 
other perfons ; they are children of the fame Father, 
heirs of the fame inheritance, yea, members of the fame 
body, partakers of the fame divine life, and temples of 
the fame Spirit. They are fellow foldiers in the fame 
army, fellow travellers in the fame journey, and denizens 
of the fame heavenly city. They pofTefs alfo an excel- 
lency peculiar to themielves, even the image of God and 
the beauty of hr linefs ; they are the brethren and re- 
presentatives of Chrift, to whom we are required to fhew 
all kindnefs for his fake, and as if he were perfonally 
prefent with us : and on all accounts they are entitled, 
not only to our good will and compaffion, but to our cor- 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer. 277 

dial approbation, efteem, and raoft endeared affection** 
Evangelical principles therefore muft influence thofe who 
experience their energy, to delight in them, and to chufe 
them as companions-]-. This indeed -is felected by the 
Apoftle, as the fure evidence, that we " are paffed 
'f from death unto life^; for when we value and take 
pleafure in the fociety of thofe who bear the image of 
Chritt, profefs his gofpel, and walk in his ways ; when 
we find our hearts united to them in love, and enlarged 
in defires of promoting their welfare, not becaufe they 
belong to our party, but becaufe they belong to Chrift ; 
when our cordial affection is increafed in proportion as 
they appear to us to bear his holy image ; even though 
they differ from us in fome fentiments or forms : it then 
appears that the truth dwells in us with transforming 
power, and that we really love the Lord himfelf. By 
nature we were difpofed to diilike, fhun, or neglect fuch. 
perfons, and even to depife and hate them : or if on 
other accounts we loved any of them, this affection 
might indeed make us tolerate their religious peculiarities y 
but it could not induce us to take pleafure in their fpirit- 
ual converfation and behaviour. This love of the breth- 
ren may eafily be diftinguifhed from an attachment to 
thofe of our own party 3 who pleafes us by coincidence of 
judgment, and by flattering our good opinion of our- 
felves ; (which is only a fpecious modification of felf- 
love.) For when this is all, a man will prefer the leaft 
Spiritual even of his own feet to thofe that are more fo ; 
and will chufe to affociate with mere carnal men who 
agree with him in fentiment on difputed points, rather 
than with the moll eminent believers who are of another 
opinion : and he will always be more ready to engage in 
controverfy, than to hold the truth in peace and love. — 
Fromthefe two branches of the Chriftian temper many 
others will refult; and indeed they cannot be proved gen- 
uine, except by their connection with the reft. 

III. A difpofition to be harmlefs and blamelefs is the 
genuine effect of evangelical principles well underftood 
and truly believed. Beyond difpute the world is full of 



* Gal. vi. 10. t £*s. xvi. 3. cxix. 63. % 1 John, iii. 14* 
A a 2 



278 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XIX, 

mifery ; and this mifery, in great meafure, fprings from 
the crimes of men, not only as a punifhment inflicled by 
divine juftice, but alfo as a neceiTary effeel of them. For 
men, following the hnpulfe of their appetites and paf- 
fions, render themfelves and others wretched, andfeduce 
one another into fuch courfes as muft end in future mi- 
fery, except they be forfaken. The real Chriftian there- 
fore, from regard to the happinefs of others, and of 
himfelf, as well as from zeal for the glory of God, will 
carefully guard againft every thing which tends to in- 
creafe the fum total of human mifery or vice ; and his 
moderation refpec~h'ng worldly things will place him out 
of the reach -of many temptations to which others are 
expofed, or elfe enable him. to refift them. He will 
habitually aim to be juft and honeft in all his dealings ; 
not grafping at gains which cuftom may have fandtioned, 
but which accord not with ftricl probity ; not taking 
advantage of any man's ignorance or necemty, to circum- 
vent or exacl from him ; not evading taxes, and leaving 
his neighbour to bear a difproportionate part of them ; 
not mfifting on his utmoft due, when it would diftrefs 
thofe that owe it ; not keeping, by a continued fraud, 
that property which hath been unjuftly obtained, when 
it is in his power to make reftitution ; not living extra- 
vagantry, nor engaging in perilous fchemes, and thus 
contracting needlefs debts to the injury of his creditors 
and family ; not taking his neighbour's work without 
' wages, or oppre fling the poor to increafe his wealth or 
fuppojt his luxury ; not concurring in any plan for get- 
ting money, by methods which enflave the perfons, ex- 
pofe the lives, or endanger the fouls of men ; not ufing 
the too cuftomary impofitions of trade, which are every 
where condemned in Scripture, however pleaded for by 
men profeffing to believe it ; and which fubftitute the 
rule of doing as others do to us, inftead of doing as lue nvould 
theyjhould do to us. In fhort, he will conlcientioufly ren- 
der to God, to Csefar, and to all the different members 
of the community, their dues ; rather chufing to give up 
his own right, than to infringe on that of another: and 
though he will not in every inftance come up to that ex- 
ac*tn':fs which be propofes •, yet his attainments will ha- 
bitually accord with his knowledge of the divine word, 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer, 279 

and be proportioned to his experience of its transforming 
efficacy on his heart. , 

The fame principles will influence the confiftent be- 
liever to " put away lying, and to fpeak truth with 
" his neighbour •," paying the ftri&eft regard to veraci- 
ty, fincerity, and fidelity in all his profeffions, con- 
verfation, narration of fa&s, and engagements. He 
cannot confiftently trifle with fo facred a matter as 
truth, for the fake of a jeft, an humorous tale, or a 
compliment ; much lefs to gratify anger, malice, or 
avarice ; or in flattery, flander, or religious controver- 
fy. He will aim to avoid all prevarication and equi- 
vocal expreflions, and whatever has a tendency to de- 
ceive ; his " yea will be yea, and his nay, nay :" he 
will ftudy undifguifed fincerity, and not, under pro- 
feffions of friendship, raife expectations which he hath 
no intention or profpecl: of anfwering : he will deem 
himfelf bound to punctuality and fidelity to all his en- 
gagements, even when they prove injurious to him ; 
and he will certainly fulfil them, if it be required and 
practicable, provided he was not deceived in the 
grounds on which he made them, and no command of 
God be violated by it*. 

The fame difpofition of leading a blamelefs and harm- 
lefs life will influence him to thofe kinds and to that 
degree of felf-denial, which are requifite in order to 
avoid gratifying any inclination by difturbing the peace, 
corrupting the morals, or injuring the perfon of anoth- 
er ; or which may in any way tempt, weaken, or 
(tumble thofe around him. It will equally caution him 
to bridle his tongue, and to abftain from all bitter, pro- 
voking, backbiting, or corrupting difcourfe *, and from 
all words, however witty and ingenious, which tend to 
pollute the imagination, to inflame the paflions, to 
afperfe the reputation, or difturb the domeftic harmo- 
ny, of any one. Nay, confiftency requires him to 
avoid every exprefiion that may give needlefs uneafi- 
nefs to another; and to refrain from repeating difad- 
vantageous reports, though known to be true, except 



Ps. xv. 4, 



280 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XIX* 

when it is neceffary to prevent others from being de- 
ceived or injured. 

In thefe and many other particulars, the believer's 
principles will influence him to " avoid all appearance 
" of evil," when it can be done with a clear confcience ; 
to take care that " his good be not evil fpoken of ;" to 
" provide things honeft in the the fight of all men ;" 
and to give no needlefs offence to any one. Thus he 
will endeavour by well-doing to put to filence falfe ac- 
cufers, and to compel even thofe who hate his religion, 
to allow, that he is a quiet good kind of a perfon. — 
Alas, " in many things we offend all ;" but the con- 
Jtftent Chriflian will excufe none of his failures : on the 
contrary, when confc.ious of having acled improperly, 
he will condemn himfelf, even more feverely than 
others conde tin him. het it be here alfo noted, that 
diligence in the proper bufmefs of a man's ftation, 
without meddling with fuch things as do not belong to 
it, is an effential part of a harmlefs conduct ; and the 
confident Chriftian will be very frugal and provident, 
and - fubmit to many hardmips, rather than burden 
others, or needlefsly leave his family to be maintained 
by them. The example of Chrift and his Apoftles, as 
well as the precepts of the New Teftament, fhew that 
every degree of floth and bad management by which 
men are reduced to a difgraceful poverty, and led to 
intercept what others have a prior claim to, is inconfiftent 
with the obligations and character of believers *, howev- 
er zealous men may be for the doctrines and ordinances 
of religion : and fureiy evangelical motives mould in- 
duce us to fill up our proper ftations as diligently, as 
worldly motives do the moft refpe&able part of un- 
godly men. 

IV. To love mercy, and to be kind and liberal in doing 
good, is peculiarly the difpofition and character of the 
trne believer. The Apoftie's language on this fubje£t 
is very remarkable — " See that ye abound in this grace 
" alfo : — ye know the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; 
" that though he was rich, yet for your fakes he became 
" poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich*.'* 



* 1 Cor. viii. 7...9. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer, 281 

" Charge them that are rich in this world, that they 
" do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to 
" diftnbute, willing to communicate*." But this topic, 
as far as the more affluent are concerned, is more fully 
di: cuffed in another placef : yet even they " who la- 
** bour, working with their hands, are required to give 
u to them that need ;" and the cup of cold water, or 
the widow's two mites, may exprefs a willing mind as 
decidedly as the largefl beneficence of the wealthy. Ac- 
tive kindnefs however, does not con fill merely in giv- 
ing ; but a man may exprefs much love by thwarting 
his own inclination or foregoing his eafe, that he may 
ferve others. That charity of which the Apoflie fpeaks 
fo highly^:, is efpecially diilinguiihed by its unfeigned 
defire and aim to promote both the temporal and eter- 
nal good of others ; and may be fhewn in a vaft variety 
of unexpenfive fervices, and in minute felf-denials ac- 
companied with alacrity and kindnefs. The confident 
Chriilian, in the lowed condition, will never want an 
occafion of convincing his little circle, that he wifhes 
to do them good, and is habitually ready to put him- 
felf to trouble and inconvenience for that purpofe ; 
while he will always be able to pray for numbers to 
whom he can render no other fervice. And though the 
houfehold of faith be entitled to the preference in fuch 
works and labours of love ; yet none, (no not even our 
bittereit enemies and perfecutors ) are to be excluded 
from them. 

V. Chriilian principles will induce a man, whilit 
thus endeavouring to do good to all and harm to none, 
to fuffer long, to forbear, forgive, and purfue peace 
with all men. The patience and long-fuffering of God, 
though provoked continually ; his exuberent kindnefs in 
plentifully fupplying the wants and protecting the per- 
sons of the wicked§ ; and efpecially his forbearance 
towards us when we were enemies to him, and the in- 
expreffible grace by which we were made his friends ; 
his mercy in befeeching finners to be reconciled to him ^ 



* 1 Tim. vi. If.. .19. f Ess^.y. xxii. 

$ 1 Cor. xiii. § Matt, v, 43...4.&V 



282 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XIX. 

his readinefs to forgive the mod numerous and aggravat- 
ed rebellions, and to confer all bleffings on every one 
who applies for them ; his perftvering love to believers 
notwithftanding their fubfequent ingratitude and mif- 
conduct ; the example of Chrift, " who when he was 
tc reviled, reviled not again," but prayed for his mur- 
derers with his dying breath* ; the conftant tenor of the 
NewTeftament precepts •, and the rebukes given to the 
difciples when they were actuated by a different fpirit, 
combine toUiew of what importance this difpofition is 
and undeniably prove that it is the certain effect of 
evangelical doctrines, well underftood and truly be- 
lieved-}-. If the profeffed Chriftian loves thofe alone 
who are of his own feci: or religion, what does he more 
than others ? Or in what does the peculiar effect of his 
principles, and the grace given unto him appear ? in- 
deed this difpofition is eflential to the very exercife of 
living faith, and our Lord has exprefsly declared that 
U except we for ive men their trefpaffes, our heavenly 
" Father will not forgive UsJ." He hath taught Uis to 
afk forgivenefs of God, " as we forgive them that tref- 
" pafs againft us;," fo that the prayer of a revengeful 
man for pardon, yea, of every one who does not from, 
his heart forgive his brother his trefpaffes, is in fa£t an 
imprecation of divine vengeance on himfelf- He hath 
illuftrated the fubje£fc by a mod affecting parable§ : and 
he requires us to for ive our brethren, not only *' till 
«« feven times, but till feventy times feven ;" yea, feven 
times a day, if the offender need it and afk for itj|. We 
are repeatedly exhorted to " put on, as the elect of 
st God, (holy and beloved,) bowels of mercy, kindnefs, 
*< humblenefs of mind, meeknefs, long-fuffering, for* 
" bearing one another, and forgiving one another, if 
" any man have a quarrel againft any ; even as Chrift; 
" forgave us**." 

Nor fhould this be confined to our Chriftian brethren : 
it muft be extended even to our moft furious perfecut- 



* Luke xxiii. 34. 1 Pet. ii. 20....24. 

t Luke, vi. 2T...36. ix. 51...56, Rom. xii. 14. 19., ,,21. 1 Pet, 

iii, 8, 9, $ Matt; vi, 1.2, 14, 15. § Matt, xvni, -3L.S25. 

Luke, xvii, 3, 4. ** Eph, iv, 1, 2, 31, 32, v. i, 2. Col, iii. 12, 13. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer. 283 

ors, notwithstanding all their curfes and cruelties *, for 
«* even hereunto were we called." We are not, indeed, 
required to place any confidence in fuch men, or to confer 
fpecial favours upon them ; (for the Lord reftricls his 
fpecial favours to his chofen people :) much lefs ought 
we to love the crimes and iociety, or to countenance 
the herefy, infidelity, idolatry, or fuperftition, of thofe 
who hate the Lord : but we may exprefs our decided 
abhorrence of their vices and errors, and oppofe them 
with the utmoft firmnefs ; and yet relieve their urgent 
wants, aflift them in perils and diftrerTes, feek their 
beft welfare, forgive their injuries, pour out our pray- 
ers for their converfion, anfwer their revilings and im- 
precations with mild language and good wifhes, and 
perfevere in endeavouring to * l overcome evil with 
" good." We may lofe the thoughts of a man's ill 
ufage of us, in confidering the mifery he is bringing on 
himfelf : and we may. from a fenfe of duty, take a 
decided part againft him, as far as his conduct difturbs 
the peace of fociety, or tends to corrupt the purity of 
the church, even whilft refentment has yielded to com- 
panion in our hearts, and our fecret prayers form an 
authentic evidence of our love to his foul. Thus the 
judge or profecutor may pity, and exprefs good will to 
the criminal ; in whofe condemnation his duty requires 
him to concur. Thus a man may forgive, and {hew 
all proper lenity to, the fraudulent debtor or affailant ; 
whilft his obligations to his own creditors and family 
compel him to feek legal redrefs for important injuries, 
or to ward off fuch as are threatened. And thus the 
zealous fervant of Chrift may write or preach againft 
antichriftian or infidel principles, in the moft energetic 
manner, (provided he do not violate the rules of truth 
and meeknefs j) and yet he may be ready to relieve the 
urgent, wants, and to pity the miferies, of thofe who 
hold them: fo that they who object to fuch conduct, 
certainly " know not what fpirit they are of j" but vain- 
ly fuppofe thofe cenfures to fpring from warmer zeal, 
which are the effe£t of an haughty, bitter, violent, and 
vindictive difpofition. The apoftle James emphatically 
fays, « Who is a wife man, and endued with knowl- 
" edge among you ? let him {hew out of a good con. 



284 On the Dispositions, isfc. Essay XIX. 

« verfation his works with meeknefs of wifdom :" and 
he adds, w But if ye have bitter envying and flrife in 
" in your hearts, glory not and lie not againjlthe truth" 
(as if the doctrine of Chrift were to be blamed for this 
mifcondu£t :) " this wifdom, defcendeth not from above, 
" but is earthly, fenfual" (or natural,) " devilifh : for 
" where envying and ftrife are, there is confufion and 
tl every evil work. But the wifdom that is from above," 
(the gift of God in anfwer to the prayer of faith, and 
the genuine effe£t of Chriftian principles,) " is firft pure, 
" then peaceable, gentle, eafy to be intreated, full of 
" mercy and good fruits, without partialitv and with- 
(t out hypocrify : and the fruit of righteoufnefs is fown 
" in peace of them that make peace ;" " for the wrath 
" of man worketh not the righteoufnefs of God*." 
In all cafes, where boafting, reviling, flander, conteft 
for victory, rafh judging, mifreprefentation, and a dif- 
polition to expofe an opponent to ridicule, contempt, or 
enmity, are admitted ; where anathemas, or perfonal 
reflections foreign to the fubjecl: in hand, are vented ; or 
a defire of puniihing men for their religious opinions, 
or of withholding from them the common offices of 
humanity, is intimated ; there the fpirit of Chriftianity 
ceafes, and the fame principles operate, which kindled 
all the fires of pagan or papal perfecution : and what- 
ever be the tenets or pretexts of perfons, who indulge 
fuch tempers towards their own enemies or thofe of 
their religion ; they are (perhaps unawares,) imitating, 
and fanctioning the ve; y evils which excite their ve- 
hement indignation. It is in vain for men to fay that 
they forgive and do good to their onvn enemies, and only 
object, to kindnefs fhewn to the enemies of Chriji : for 
how can the bitter perfecutors of Chriftians be any 
other than the enemies of Chrift ? And did not all thofe 
profeiTed Chriftians, who anathematized, imprifoned, 
enflaved, ftarved, burned, or mafiacred heretics, as they 
called them, by millions, pretend that they were actu- 
ated by zeal for the honour of Chrift, and again ft his 
enemies ? It is to no purpofe to adduce a few paflages 

* Jam* i. 5, 19, 20. Hi. 13...18. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer. 285 

from Scripture to fan&ion fuch a fpirit and conduct : 
an infpired writer might properly denounce vengeance 
on the inveterate enemies of God, and utter prophecies 
refpe&ing them •, but fuch exempt cafes do not conftitute 
our rule of conduEl^ for that mud be regulated by the ex- 
prefs precepts, and by the example of Chriil, as he was 
obedient to the law for us : nor may we follow even a Pro- 
phet or Apoftle further than they followed the Lord. 

Chriftian principles, therefore, will teach a man as 
far as he is influenced by them, to recede from his 
right for the fake of peace and love, in all things that 
confift with other duties \ and to " follow peace with all 
" men," fo as " to purfue after it' even when it flies 
from him. He will efpecially endeavour to promote 
the peace of the church, and avoid whatever may dif- 
turb it. He will, " if poffible, live peaceably with all 
" men," and will only deviate from this conduct when 
compelled to it by duty. He is alfo a peace-maker as 
far as he has any influence, both among his brethren 
and neighbours. He defires to be of one mind and 
judgment with all who love the Lord ; and if he mult 
differ from them in fentiment, he would differ amicably, 
and reluctantly \ for he " endeavours to keep the unity 
<( of the Spirit in the bond of peace." He aims to 
'< do all things without murmurings and difputings," 
and nothing " through ftrife and vain glory :" knowing 
that the <c fervant of the Lord muft not ftrive, but be 
44 gentle towards all men ; in meeknefs inftru£Hng thofe 
ct -hat oppofe themfelves." He is aware, that God 
alone can, " give men repentance to the acknowledging 
** of the truth;" and that tevilings and bitter farcafins 
are none of the means which he hath inftituted, and 
on which a bluffing may be expected. His felf-knowl- 
edge and experience forbid him to difdain or defpair of 
others ; and fo long as he deems it right to addrefs him- 
felf to them at all, he will do it. with a hope and pray4- 
er, that they may yxtbe faved by fovereign grace. 

The fame principles influence the believer tt> cultivate 
an habitual forbearance, and a readinefs to pafs over 
and forgive the manifold little faujts, miftakes, and 
petulances, which we muft expedt to meet with even 



286 On the Dispositions, &c. Essay XIX, 

in the beft of men, whilft they continue in this imper- 
fect flate : for he knows that he needs fuch reciprocal 
forbearance from them; and without this mantle of 
love covering the multitude of faults, no peace can be 
expected in human fociety. He has been taught to 
bear without much concern thofe affronts which proud 
men deem it a point of honour to refent. whatever con- 
fequences enfue : and if he be ridiculed or reviled for 
his tamenefs, he remembers the meeknefs of Chrift 
amidft the fcorn and cruelty of his enemies. His point 
of honour confiils in not fuffering himfelf to be over- 
come by any kind or degree of evil ; in " overcoming 
" evil with good ;" and in fubduing his own fpirit : and 
his fortitude is (hewn, by facing dangers and enduring 
hardfhips, in the caufe and after the example of Chrift. 
But when he is confcious of having inured or affronted 
others ; he will readily fubmit to the moil: humiliating 
conceflions or reparation for the fake of peace. His 
principles alfo teach him, to avoid all irritating expref- 
fions, and to ftifle every rifing of refentment for injuries 
received ; to fear harbouring a prejudice or grudge againft 
any man, (for " anger refteth," only " in the bofom 
" of a fool j") to watch for an opportunity of convinc- 
ing an obftinate enemy, that he bears him no ill-will, 
but would gladly live amicably with him ; and to forget, 
as far as he can, the hard treatment he hath met with, 
not loving to mention it, or hear others expatiate on it, 
and only recollecting it in order to pray for the injurious 
party.. But on the other hand, the fame views will 
lead him to remember, and to mention when proper, 
the kindnefs (hewn him ; for they lead to gratitude, 
not only to the Giver, but to the inflruments, of ail our 
comforts. 

I might further enlarge on the candour in judging 
of men's motives, and of thofe actions that may admit 
of a more or lefs favourable conftruclion ; and the 
courteoufnefs, affability, and aff^tionate behaviour, 
which Chriftian principles proportionably efft£t : but I 
muft not at prefent proceed any further. The Apoftle's 
defcription of that charity, or love> which is even great- 
er than faith and hope, includes all that hath been ad- 
vanced, and much more than I am able to exprefs. 



Essay XIX. Peculiar to the True Believer. 287 

As a natural philofopher would define gold by its pecu- 
liar properties, which exiit as really in a grain as in a 
talent ; fo he (hews the nature of love itfelf, whether 
a man hath more or lets of it. " Charity fuffers long, 
« and is kind ; doth not envy, or vaunt herfelf, is not 
" putTed up, doth not behave herfelf unfeemly, feeketh 
(i not her own" interejl, credit, eafe, or : indulgence ; " is. 
m not eafily provoked, thinketh no evil j rejoiceth not 
" in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all 
" things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, en-. 
dureth all things, — and never faileth* :" . As far then 
as Chriftian principles prevail, peace, harmony, and 
comfort abound : and were they univerfaily influential, 
they would rectify the whole moral (fate of the world. 
What then mall we think of thofe who fpend their 
lives in running them down ; or representing them as 
of licentious tendency ? What (hall we fay ce-icern- 
ing thofe who take occafion from the gofpel to indulge 
their felfifh, fenfual, or malignant paffions ? Or to what 
fhall we afcribe the improper conduct, even of true 
Chriftians, but to their want of a fuller acquaintance 
with the tendency of their principles, and a more com- 
plete experience of their efficacy ? 



ESSAY XX. 

On the Believer's Attention to Relative Duties* 



JL HOSE djjjipofitions of mind, which a real be- 
lief of evangelical truth never fails to produce, will be 
efpecially manifefted by a confeientious attention to the 
duties of the feveral relations which conftitute human 



* 1 Cor. xiii. 



288 On the Believer* s Attention Essay XX. 
ibciety, according to the precepts and exhortations of 
the holy Scriptures. By this indeed the excellency of 
our principles is peculiarly difplayed, and true holinefs 
is diftinguifhed from all counterfeits. Our natural 
propenfities are fo diversified by conftitution, education, 
habits, connections, and purfuits ; that they fometimes 
affume the appearance of things fpiritually good : for 
inftance a courageous temper may be miftaken for 
Chriftian firmnefs and fortitude ; and an indolent or 
yielding turn of mind may pafs for Chriftian meeknefs, 
pliancy, and companion. Yet the counterfeit is perfect- 
ly diftinct, from that holy temper to which it is affimil- 
ated ; and has very little effect on a man's general con- 
duel:, though it may be very confpicuous in a few 
detached inftances : at the fame time it unfits men for 
feveral parts of their duty, renders them peculiarly 
prone to (ins which coincide with their natural propen- 
fity, and leaves them regardlefs of the will and glory 
of God, and of the truehappinefs of mankind, in their 
bed actions. Even when the mind is in a meafure in- 
fluenced by divine grace, natural propenfities may eafily 
deceive us as to the degree of it : a harfh, rough, 
violent, or obftinate temper will induce an appearance 
of zeal and boldnefs in religion far beyond what is 
genuine ; and, on the other hand, will prevent fuper- 
ficial obfervers from perceiving, how much right prin- 
ciples have humbled, foftened, and meliorated the mind: 
and this will alfo create the believer himfelf a great deal 
of -trouble and uneafmefs perhaps to the end of his 
days. In like manner a timid, placed, indolent difpo- 
ihion will give a man an appearance of great meekntfs 
and gentlenefs, even when he is but little influenced by 
right principles : whilft the greater! prevalence of grace 
in his heart, will leave him too yielding • and too apt to 
make improper compliances, and to decline hardfhips, 
dangers, difficulties, and contefts, even on the moll 
important occafions. 

But when the Chriftian is followed into the retired 
fcenes of life, the habitual effect of his principles may be 
more precifely afcertained ; and his attention to the wel- 
fare, comfort, and peace of all around him, even at the 
expence of many perfonal inconveniences and much felf- 






Essay XX. to Relative Duties, 289 

denial, will prove bis piety to be genuine and of the mod 
falutary tendency. This will, therefore, conftitute the 
fubjectof the prefent Eflay : but it may be ufeful to pre- 
mife a few observations. 

I. When we ftate the believer's relative duties, we do 
not mean that other men are exempted from the fame 
obligations ; but merely, that Chriftian principles, and 
the fpecial grace by which they are planted and render- 
ed eff ctuai in the heart, incline and enable believers ha- 
bitually to attend to thefe duties in the whole tenor of 
their conduct ; though they do not perform them in tb?.t 
extent and perfection, in which they own them to be 
obligatory : whereas other men either live without rule,. 
or lay down rules for themfelves that differ widely from 
the precepts of Scripture ; or they allow themfelves habit- 
tually to neglecl their known duty, in this as well as in other 
particulars. 

2. The attention to relative duties, produced by 
evangelical principles, exceedingly differs even from 
that which refults merely from regard to the authority 
of God as a Law-giver. In this cafe, the fear of pun- 
ifhment, and the hope of reward, are the only influ- 
ential motives of a religious nature ; and thefe indeed, 
aided by felf-love in its manifold operations, and by na- 
tural affection, may, in particular circumftances, pro- 
duce a very decent outward conduct: : but believers be- 
fides all thefe motives, are influenced by the conftrain- 
ing love of Chrift, a fenfe of immenfe obligations re- 
ceived, a defire of adorning and recommending the gof- 
pel, and an unfeigned love to all around them, produc- 
ing a permanent attention to every thing connected with 
their prefent and eternal welfare. — We therefore find, 
that the Apoftles always inculcated relative duties from 
thefe and flmilar confiderations ; and tfcus affixed an 
evangelical ftamp to their practical inftructions, as well 
as a practical ftamp to their doctrinal difcuffions 

3. The believer indeed endeavours " to fhew his 
4i faith by his works" but he alfo judges his works by 
the ftrict rule of the fpiritual requirements of the law :: 
fo that whilft he hopes for a gracious reward from his 
reconciled God, according to the new covenant in the 
blood of Chriit •, he is confeious that his belt performs 

buz 



290 On the Believer's Attention Essay XX. 

ance even of relative duties is fo defective as to deferve 
puniihment, if the Lord mould be extreme to mark 
what is done amifs. He vtill, therefore, habitually 
conned the exercife of repentance and faith with all his. 
obedience •, even when nothing occurs to bring the real- 
ity of his grace into fufpieion. 

4. The facred writers generally begin with the duties 
of the inferior relations: whether it be, that thefe are 
commonly the moft difficult to our felf-willed ungovern- 
able nature ; or that a greater number of believers oc- 
cupy thefe Hations ; or that the advantageous perform- 
ance of the duties belonging to the fuperior relations 
depends much on the conduct of inferiors. But how- 
ever that may be ; we muft carefully obferve that in 
moil in (lances the failure of one party, in the reciprocal 
relations, does not excufe the neglect of duty in the 
other; though it commonly increafes the difficulty, and 
renders it a more fevere trial of faith and obedience. 
In'this the excellency of fcriptural principles efpecially 
appears : if we only behave well in relative life to them 
who behave well to us, what do we more than others ? 
This is merely doing as we are done by, not as ive would 
be done by. Thefe obfervations having been premifed, 
we proceed to confider — 

I. The reciprocal duties of hufoands and wives , as from 
this relation moft others are regularly derived. The 
Creator himfelf inftituted the conjugal union before the 
entrance of fin, for the moft wife, kind, and important 
purpofes, with which his whole plan refpefting the 
human race was infeparably connected. He faw that 
" it was not good for Adam," even in paradife " to be 
<* alone 5" and that " there was no help meet for him'* 
to be found among all the other creatures -, no one fuited 
to engage his affections, participate his enjoyments, 
conftitute his companion, or unite with him in the wor- 
ship of God. He was, therefore, pleafed to form the 
woman from his fide, as « bone of his bone and flefh of 
" his flefh ;" to lay the foundation of a moderate fubor- 
dination and moft rational affeclion : and he gave her 
to Adam, to be his affociate and counterpart, and to 
unite with him in training up their common offspring ; 
that fhe might yield him the willing obedience of cordial 



Essay XX. to Relative Duties. 291 

efteem and afFeclion, and receive from him the atten- 
tion, protection, and counfel of wifdom, love, and 
mild authority. The Lord made no more than one 
woman for Adam* ; for the molt remote deiire of 
polygamy could never have entered man's heart, had he 
not become a (inner. He joined Adam and Eve togeth- 
er, blefled them, and pronounced the union indifToluble 
by human authority ; for no caufe of divorce could have 
fubfifted in holy creatures : and he added, " for this 
i( caufe a man {hall leave his father and mother, and 
* fhall cleave unto his wife ; and they fhall be one-flefli." 
To this original institution our Lord repeatedly referred 
in his decifions on this fubjeel: ; conftantly Inferring the 
word twain, in addition to the terms ufed by the facred 
hiftorian, left any corrupt interpretation mould be fu- 
perinduced. 

Had not fin entered, this union would doubtlefs have 
fubfifted during the whole term of probation allotted to 
Adam and Eve, and to the reft of their pofterity ; till 
they were admitted to that more exalted ftate, which 
was promifed as the reward of entire obedience : and 
that unalterable fidelity, attachment, and affection 
which, with their infeparable effects, muft have refult- 
ed from the perfection of human nature, are (till requir- 
ed by the fpiritual law of God, as far as circumftances 
continue to be the fame. But many and grea: changes 
have taken place in confequence of the fall. " Sin hath 
" entered into the woild, and death by fin." The Lord 
himfelf often difTolves the marriage union, foon after it 
hath been formed ', and at what time foever this fepara- 
tion takes place, his word leaves the furviving party 
entirely at liberty to form another union, if that be deem- 
ed expedient. Unfaithfulnefs to the marriage-covenant 
in either party makes way for the diiTolution of the union, 
as by a moral death ; and where it is clearly proved, 
without any fufpicion of collufion, a divorce ought to be 
eafily and certainly attainable. Various circumftances 
in the prefent degraded ftate of human nature, by weak- 
ening the authority of reafon and giving force to the pai 



,-r 



* Mai. ii. 15. 



292 On the Believer's Attention EtlSAY XX. 

fions, add to the original ends for which marriage was 
inftituted. The manifold miftakes, imperfections, and 
faults, to which all are liable, render mutual forbear- 
ance, forgivenefs, and felf-denying conceffions, efL-ntial 
to connubial harmony and comfort : whilft the malig- 
nity, fenfuality, and obduracy, of which fallen man is 
capable, induced the Lord himfelf to permit divorces 
and polygamy among the Jews, to prevent more dread- 
ful confequences \ but as the Chriftian difpenfation 
contains no municipal law, it could not confidently 
make any fuch allowances. Moreover, the manifold 
forrows, pains, trials, and temptations, to which our 
race is now expofed, and the peculiar furTerings incident 
to the female lex, have given rife to a variety of duties 
which would not otherwife have been incumbent : fo 
that the relative obligations o this union vary exceed- 
ingly from what they would have been, had not fin en- 
ter, d, and become more difficult to be performed. 

Several queftions, often agitated on this fubje£t, do 
not indeed properly fall within the defign of thefe EfTays : 
but we obferve in general, that fome legal and authenti- 
cated recognition is abfolutely neceflary, to diftinguifh 
this honourable union from all temporary and difgrace- 
ful connections : for the opinion that the confent of the 
parties alone is effential to marriage, to which the out- 
ward cer - Ttony can give no additional validity, is fuited 
to anfwer the purpofe of libertines ; and tends to mul- 
tiply feduclions, to introduce confuhon, and to dinemi- 
nate licentioufnefs. Should it be granted, that this or 
the other form of fofemnizing matrimony is not in it f elf of 
divine authority ,• it mull alfo be maintained that fome 
warranted form is indifpenfably nece/fary v and it will fol- 
low, that the form appointed by the laws of our coun- 
try is fan&ioned by the Lord alfo ; unlefs it can be 
proved that he hath excluded legifatcrs from making fuch 
appointments ', by prefer ibing the re^nifte form in his holy 
ivord ; or thai the form fixed upon by them is in itfelf a 
violation of the divine laiv. 

It hath been obferved that divorces fhould only be ad- 
mitted for the caufe of fornication, being exprefsly pro- 
hibited in all other cafes : but marriages contracted be- 
tween thofe near relations, whom the Lord for the wiieft 



Essay XX. to Relative Duties. 293 

reafons hath prohibited to iuter-marry, are in themfelves 
juftly deemed invalid, and may properly be difTolved. 
In all other calls however, " thofe whom God hath 
" joined together "man ought not," on any pretence 
whatfoever, " to put afunder :" and the fewer reftric- 
tions to marriage are added to thofe exprefsly made by 
divine authority, the better will the true intertills of 
mankind in every order of fociety be provided for. That 
polygamy alio is exprefsly prohibited by the facred 
Scriptures, muft appear to every unbiafFed mind: who 
carefully compares together the paffages referred to*. 
The intermarriage of the profefTed worfhippers of God 
with idolaters and other open defpifers of him ; and that 
of believers with thofe who are evidently ftranger.s to 
true -godlinefs, are prohibited, at lead in all ordinary 
cafes ', and the infringement of thefe prohibitions has in 
all ages been extremely injurious to the caufe of religionf-. 
This may lead us back to our more immediate fub- 
je£t. ; for the duty of Chridians in refpe£t of this rela- 
tion commences before they actually enter into it. When 
they deem it mod conducive to their bed interefts and 
to their ufefulnefs to marry \ their principles will lead 
them to acknov^iedge God in fo important a concern, to 
confult his word, to pray for his direction and bleffing, 
and to regard his providential difpenfations in their de- 
termination. They cannot confidently treat this moll 
momentous matter with a childifh levity, or hearken to 
the corrupt fuggeftions of worldly convenience, avarice, 
or irrational attachment ; or to the ^afeinations of wit, 
beauty, or accomplifhments of any kind, in preference 
to piety. A fuitable companion through the refidue of 
life, who may efpecially be helpful in forwarding fpir- 
itual improvement, and concur in every pious plan of 
family-religion, and the education' of children, fhould 
before all things be fought for : though a fubordinate re- 
gard to fituation in life, habits, profp'-Cb, and natural 
difpofition may very properly be admitted. In ihort, 
the Lord, who knoweth all things, fhould be condant- 



* Gen. ii. 24. Mai. ii. 14....16. Matt. xix. S....9. Mark x. 11. 
1 Cor. vii. 2....4. f 1 Cor. vii. 39. 2 Cor. vi. 14.... 1& 



294 On the Believer's Attention Essay XX. 

ly and earnestly intreated to dire£t the choice and deter- 
mination, and to give the bleffing \ in order to which 
the advice of pious and prudent perfons, and the judg- 
ment of affectionate parents and relations, mould be at- 
tended to, as far as the word of God confifts with their 
conclufions. 

When the union hath taken place, the married per- 
fons mould confider each other, not only as the objects 
of their own choice, but alfo of the Lord's choice for 
them ; and mould constantly defire and pray to be per- 
fectly fatisfied with it. From that moment, the eye, 
the ear, the imagination, the heart, mart be carefully 
clofed againft all other perfons ; and every word and 
action cautiouily munned, which may excite an uneafy 
thought in, each other's mind ; or which may give the 
lead reafon to fufpecl: an abatement or change of affec- 
tion. They mould remember from the nrftj that they 
are both ilnners, and mull expecT to be fufferers ; that 
they are abfolutely infumcient to each other's happinefs ; 
and that, whiVft the Lord may render them inftrumen- 
tal to each other's comfort and welfare, they mud ex- 
pec!: to be alfo fources of anxiety and forrow to one 
another in many refpe&s, and at la ft i$» be feparated by 
the ftroke of death. That idolatrous, fel-fim., and car- 
nal love therefore, to which nature leads, mould be 
fteadily counteracted \ and grace mould be fought, by 
conftant prayer, to change it gradually for a more ra- 
tional, fubordinate, and Spiritual affection : otherwife it 
will at length either abate, be turned into difguft, 
transferred to another object^ or prove the fource of the 
keened anguifh. The mind fhould alfo be prepared by 
every confideration, for continual and abounding for- 
bearance, fympathy, mutual conceffion, and felf-denial; 
without which the moft promifmg profpe&s of connu- 
bial happinefs will foon be covered with dark clouds : 
and it mould never be forgotten, that there is much 
amifs in every human character, and much alloy in all 
earthly comforts ; for too high expectations are the bane 
of fatisfa£lion in al moft every (ituation. 

When both parties are real Christians, their reciprocal 
duties will be comparatively eafy and pleafant ; yet, even 
in this moft defirable circumftance, the preceding cau- 






Essay XX. to Relative Duties. 295 

tions will not be found unneceffary. The general rules 
of conduct, for the wife, and for the hufband, are hid 
down by the Apoftle, with reference to the union between 
Chrift and his efpoufed church, from whom all our mo- 
tives mud be deduced, and who in one way or other is 
our perfect example in every thing** This allufion in- 
itriicis the " wife to fubmit herfelf to her own hufb nd, 
" as unto the Lord •/' for his fake, and as the church is 
fubjedt to him the preferver and Saviour of the whole 
Body. The Lord has placed the hufband to be the head 
of authority, protection, and counfel to the wiFe ; and 
ihe ought «« to be fubject to him in all things •," that is, 
provided nothing be commanded contrary to the will of 
God. The example of the true church fhews, that the 
wife fTvouId render obedience willingly, from love and 
gratitude, with alacrity, and a fteady defire of promoting 
the advantage, credit, and comfort of her hufband ; even 
when this is connected with fuch things as thwart her 
own inclinations, and feem to be contrary to her own in- 
tereft in matters of inferior moment. It teaches her to 
honour and reverence her hufband, and to be very reluc- 
tant to difecver his infirmities, or induce his frown ; to 
confider herfelf as no longer her own, to be at her own 
difpofal, but as, her hufb^.nd's ; to make it thebunnefsof 
her life, in fubferviency to the glory and will of God, to 
promote his happinef?, and efpecially to foothe him 
•when difcompofed by the various troubles of life ; to ac- 
commodate heneJf to his ftation ; to avoid every expence 
that may involve him ; to concur in every prudent regu- 
lation to fupport their family ; and above all to affift 
him with her prayers and endeavours in every part of 
perfonal and family religion. 

On the other hand, the hufband may learn from this 
condefcending pattern, <f to love his wife as his own bo- 
" dy," notwithstanding her defects and mifconduct •, to 
treat her with the moft perfevering kindnefs and affec- 
tionate fympathy ; to endure hard (hip, and meet danger, 
in order to protect and provide for her ; to employ his 
authority wholly for her good, and efpecially in promot- 



* Eph. v. 22....3S. 



£96 On the Believer's Attention Essay XX. 
ing her fancTifkation and falvation ; to admit her to a 
full participation of ad the advantages attached, to his fta- 
tion in life \ to foothe all her forrows with a tender at- 
tention, and a fclf-denying endeavour to alleviate them ; 
not to defpife her becaufe of infirmities, not to allow 
others to defpife or injure her, " but to give honour to 
< l her as the weaker veffel ;" to be as careful not to give 
her needlefs pain or unea nefs, as he would be not to 
wound his own flefh ; and to give up his own humour, 
nay, even fometimes his reafonable inclination, rather 
than ruffle her temper or give her umbrage, when by any 
mtans a temporary peevifhnefs hath been excited ; and 
fo to behave in all things, that fhe may rind it eafy to re- 
fpec~t and efteem him. In general, both of them are re- 
quired' to watch over each other, to tend each other in 
licknefs, to alleviate one another's cares and forrows, to 
pray for and with one another, and to avoid whatever 
may hinder thofe prayers. Above all things, each of 
them muft remember, to be moft attentive, to their feve^. 
ral duties when the other is moil deficient : for if only 
one party at once indulge a wrong temper, or fall into 
mifconducl, few ferious interruptions of domeftic harmo- 
ny will foilow. 

To thefe general hints, a few more may be added of a 
fpecial nature-. Sometimes it is difcovered after mar- 
riage, that a mittake hath been fallen into, as to the religi- 
ous character of the perfon with whom the union has been- 
forme.i. In this trying cafe, great care muft be taken that 
the mind be not alienated, or amicable intercourfe in- 
terrupted, on that account ; that no difguft be excited 
by reproach, or any expreffion importing repentance of- 
the union. On the other hand, wifdom and grace 
fhould be immediately and earneftly fought, rb enable 
the party to bear the crofs chearfuiiy ; to win upon the 
other by kindnefs and attention-, to induce a concur- 
rence in family worlhip, and attendance on the means of 
grace ; and to ufe a prudent caution that the circum- 
ftance may only be a crofs, and not a fnare to the foul.— 
By whatever means a pious perfon is thus united with an 
unbeliever, the fame cautions are in a meafure needful : 
and others may be added. The Apoftle hath exprefsly 
directed tiiat believers fhould not on any fuch account 



■ 



Essay XX. To Relative Duties. 297 

withdraw from their partners, but mould abide with 
them in hopes of being instrumental to their falvation*. 
In this cafe the wife, whofe hufband t( obeys not the 
« word," fhould endeavour " to ivln him. without the 
f s word;" not fo much by frequent and earneit dii- 
courfe on religious Subjects, (which ought to be introduc- 
ed very cautioufly, modeftly, and affectionately,) as by a 
" chaiie converfation coupled with fear," or an union of 
circumfpect fidelity and refpeclful fubmiffion •, and to 
render herfelf agreeable to him, not by the vain decora- 
tions of elegant and conMy attire-, but " by the ornament 
** of a meek and quiet fpirit," and the exercife of all thofe 
holy tempers, the feat of which is in the heart, and which 
are <f in the fight of God of great value." In fuch cir- 
cumftances, it may be advifeable to brar unkind ufage or 
neglect with patience, or to wait for opportunities of mild 
expoftulation, in humble prayer and perfevering fubmif- 
fion. Thus the crofs may be lightened which a contra- 
ry conduct commonly increafes ; and the beft method 
taken of " adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour," 
and of giving an unbeliever an affecting proof, that the 
truths he rejects are moil excellent in their nature and 
tendency. Many of the fame rules may properly be 
adopted by the pious hufband, whofe wife diflikes his 
religion: but in the fuperior relation there is a propriety 
in more explicitly and frequently introducing religious 
converfation, and in urging attendance on the means of 
grace, and concurrence in family worfhip. In both cafes, fuch 
compliances, as cannot be confcientiouflymade, mould be 
firmly but mildly refufed ; and in proportion to the de- 
gree in which a decided conduct is adopted, where the 
will of God is concerned, an obliging and yielding difpo- 
fifion fhould be maniferled where perfonal inclination on- 
ly is at flake, or where the matter is rather expedient 
than obligatory. 

But there is a cafe of ftill greater difficulty *, viz. when 
a believer has married an ungodly perfon, after having 



* 1 Cor. vii. 12...17. 
C c 



298 On the Believer's Attention Essay XX. 

been competently acquainted with the truth and will of 
God in this reipecl. in general fuch perfons flatter 
themfelves with the hope of being the inftrument of 
good to the object of their choice, though the reverfe is 
by far the more common effect. Yet this hope fhould 
not afterwards be abandoned : but deep humiliation, with 
earneft prayers to a merciful God, to pardon and over- 
rule for the beft what cannot now be difannulled, fhould 
be confidered as above all things needful. To this the 
obfervance of the foregoing rules fhould be added ; and 
the coniideration of the fin, by which the crofs hath 
been incurred, fhould constitute an additional motive to 
perfevering patience, meeknefs, and kindnefs, even in 
return for harfh treatment; and in one way or other, 
the Lord will fupport, comfort, and refcue fuch humble 
penitents, and make all to work together for good to 
their fouls, 

Thefe hints indeed are very inadequate to the full dif- 
cuffion of fo copious and important a fubject ; but they 
may throw fome light upon the path of thofe, who read 
them with prayer, and compare them with the facred 
Scriptures. 

II. We proceed to confider the reciprocal duties of pa- 
rents and children. This Subject, indeed, has been alrea- 
dy in great meafure difcufTed* \ but a few hints muft 
here be fubjoined, beginning with the duty of children 
to their parents. The Apoftle exhorts u children to 
*« obey their parents in the Lord," in obedience to his 
will, for the honour of the gofpel, from grateful love to 
the name, and in imitation of the example, of the Lord 
Jefus-, this being alfo right in itfelf, and required by the 
holy law of God. The general grounds and nature of 
this duty have been ftated ; it remains for us to confider 
it, as prac~Hfed by a believer from evangelical motives. 
If fuch a young difciple have the blefling of pious par- 
ents j in honouring and obeying them, he will common- 
ly honour and cbev the Lord : and gratitude for the 



* Essay iv. 



Essay XX. to Relative Duties. 299 

(pirttH*! benefits derived to him, by means of their in- 
ftrurtions, example, and prayers will be an additional in- 
citement to a refpectful, fubmiffive, and obliging deport- 
ment \ to a fteady concern for their comfort, eafe, in- 
ters ft, and reputation ; and to a felf-denyiug, frugal, 
antd diligent endeavour to ward off want and diftrefs from 
their .old age ; as pious Jofeph maintained his father and 
family, juit as many years in his old age, as his father had 
maintained him in his youth. In this cafe it will be pe- 
culiarly proper, to bear with their infirmities, and con- 
ceal them from others •, to fubnait to inconveniences and 
reftraints in compliance wich their wifh.es, and to foothe 
their fbrrows ; to confult them in every undertaking as 
long as they live ; to pay a deference to their opinion, 
even when it is in a meafure unreafonable, if it do not 
interfere with other duties ; and never to grieve them by 
a contrary behaviour, without a very fatisfactory reaibn, 
and with the molt evident reluctance. 

On the other hand, it fometimes happens that pious 
children have parents, whom they cannot but confider as 
ftrangers to the power of godlineis. In this cafe it muft 
be a leading defire of their hearts to win them over to 
the doctrine and grace of the Lord Jefus ; but in order 
to accomplifh this purpofe, it is peculiarly needful to 
watch again ft a hafty zeal, and a violent ipirit. They 
would ex peel: to be oppofed in their religious purfuits ; 
to be aiTailed by arguments and authority, and perhaps 
by reproaches and menaces ; to be restrained by various 
methods from attending divine ordinances, and to be 
allured into fuch companies and diverfions as are incon- 
fiftent with their profeffion. They ought therefore to 
beg of God to give them the meeknels of wifdom, as 
well as a ftedfaft mind; that they may not refufe obe- 
dience in frivolous or doubtful matters, or in a harm and 
difbbliging manner, but where evident duty requires it, 
and with calm and mild declarations of the grounds on 
which they proceed. Thus it will appear that a fcrip- 
tural confeientioufnefs (and not caprice, felf-will, orfelf- 
conceitj) compels them to act in this manner; and in 
proportion as this is done, redoubled diligence and felt- 
denial fhould be ufed, to oblige their parents in all other 
things. In general children are not required to preach 



300 On the Believer's Attention Essay XX. 

to their parents : at leaft every wor' 4 . mould be fpoken 
in modeity, tendernefs, and unaffuming gentlenefs ; and 
they mould rather aim to induce them to hear fermons, 
to read books, or to converfe with pious ?nd prudent 
Chriftians, than themfelves to give inftructions, or en- 
gage in arguments with them, except in very particular 
circumftances. For parents will feldom become docile 
fcholars to their own children, efpecially if they teach 
in magisterial and reproving language. The moft con- 
clufive argument they can ufe confifts in an uniform con- 
fcientious conduct, an obliging attention, lilent fubmif- 
lion to undeferved rebukes, diligence in buiinefs, fidelity 
to every truft repofed in them, and a diftnterefted regard 
to the temporal advantage of the whole family. "When 
a young perfon uniformly acts in this manner, he will 
have opportunities of fpeaking or writing a few words 
with weight and propriety ; which being joined with per- 
fevering praver, may at length be crowned with the de- 
fired fuccefs : whilft a contrary conduct will clofe a par- 
ent's ear againft the choiceft arguments and moft zeal- 
ous difcourfe. But however that may be, in this way he 
will adorn the gofpel, and will be fure of meeting with 
the gracious acceptance and blefling of his heavenly Fa- 
ther. 



ESSAY XXL 

The Subject continued. 



ll AVING given fome brief hints on the conduct to 
which the principles of the gofpel will influence the true 
believer in the filial relation ; we muft fubjoin a few ob- 



Essay XXI. to Relative Duties* 301 

fervations on the reciprocal duties of parents^ whom rea- 
fon and revelation unite in appointing to be the guar- 
dians of their offspring, in refpect of their prefent and 
future welfare. Their attention, therefore, muft not on- 
ly commence from the time when they actually become 
parents ; but many things fhould previouflv be arranged, 
with reference to the probability of this important event ; 
— important^ becaufe every human being, that is brought 
into exittence, muft be completely happy or miferable to 
all eternity ! From the very firft, wife and confcientious 
parents will do nothing, for the fake of eafe, indul- 
gence, or any other felrifh purpofe, which may endanger 
the life, limbs, fenfes, conftitution, under ftanding, or 
morals of their children : they will perfonally attend to 
every thing relating to them as far as they can ; and will 
be very careful not to entruft them with fuch perfons, 
as are merely influenced by worldly intereft in what 
they do for them. They will perceive the impor- 
tance of inuring them early to action, application, 
and obfervation ; and of ftoring their minds, as they 
become Capable of it, with information on every 
fubject which can conduce to render them ufeful 
members of the community. They will endeavour 
to accuftom them to fuch things as are of beneficial 
tendency, to preferve them from habits of indolence or 
felf-indulgence, and to prevent their forming improper 
connections. Many difficulties indeed muft be encoun- 
tered in adhering to fuch a plan of education ; and the 
fuccefs will not always anfwer the expectations excited 
by it : but more may frequently be done than many pa- 
rents fo much as attempt ; and the general education of 
both fexes, at prefent, feems calculated to anfwer any 
purpofe, rather than that of regulating the judgments and 
improving the minds of the riling generation ; of pre- 
ferving their principles and morals from contamination ; 
and of qualifying them for ufefully filling up the ftation 
in life for which they are defigned. 

The word of God directs parents to rule their chil- 
dren, during their tender years •, by compulfion ; and to 
reprefs their felf-will and rebellious fpirits by correction : 
that they may be early habituated to obedience and fub- 

Cc2 



302 On the Believer's Attention Essay XXI. 

miffion to authority* which will be of the greateft ad- 
vantage to them during their whole lives, both in feeu- 
lar and religious matters. For the more any man ftudies 
human nature, and repeats the actual experiment ; the 
fuller will be his conviction, that all attempts to educate 
children without correction, and to treat them as ration- 
al and independent agents, before they are able to ufe 
their reufon or liberty, arife from forgetfulnefs of their 
innate depravity, and oppofe the wifdom of man to that 
of God : and let modern manners evince with what fuc- 
cefs this has been attended*. Chaftifement then (hould 
be inflicted at an early period, difpafnonately, and in 
moderation ; yet fufficient eventually to attain the end 
propofed by it, viz. to eftablifh the parent's authority 
over the tender mind of the child. It is, therefore, 
improper in general to conteft a trivial matter : for this 
mull either give the correction the appearance of undue 
feverity, or induce the parent to defift before the child 
has completely fubmitted. The frequency, feverity, 
and paffion, with which children have been corrected, 
and the bad effects occafioned by thefe abufes, have pre- 
judiced numbers againft the ufe of any correction. But 
to argue from the abufe of any thing againft the ufe of it, 
is univerfally allowed to be bad logic : and if children 
were early taught in this manner to know that the par- 
ent would be obeyed when he gave a decided command ; 
correction need not be often repeated, and much lefs 
feverity, all circumftances confidered, would be requi- 
site in education than is generally ufed. For when 
children become rational creatures, that authority which 
eorre&ion has eftabliihed may be maintained by argu- 
ments, reproofs, commendations, and expostulations : 
whereas too many leave their indulged children without 
chaftifement, till age and habit have confirmed them in 
ftubborn felf-will ; and then, by an unfeafonable fever- 
ity, complete their ruin. For, being exafperated by 
their ingratitude, they find fault with their very at- 
tempts to pleafe ; and, by harm language and ufage, 



* Prov. xiii. 24. xix. 18. xxii. 15. xxiii. 13, 14. xxix. 17. 
.Hefe. xii. 5....11. 



Essay XXL to Relative Duties. SOS 

drive them into bad company and deftruclive courfes ; 
to which cafe the Apoftle feems efptcially to have re- 
ferred, when he faid, " Fathers, provoke not your 
children to anger, left they be difcouraged*." On the 
contrary, parents ought to ufe every method to render 
their children, as they grow up, eafy and happy in their 
company, and confident of a favourable reception in 
every attempt to pleafe them : for this tends exceedingly 
to keep them out of temptation, to improve their minds, 
and to render the parental authority of wifdom and love 
refpe£table and amiable in their eyes : and if they can 
allure their children to chufe them for companions, 
counfellors, and friends, in all their undertakings, a 
mod important point indeed will be carried. 

It is alfo incumbent on parents, to bring up their chil- 
dren in that manner, and, (if they can do it confidently 
with other duties,) to make that moderate provifionfor 
them, which may at all events enable them to live com- 
fortably in fociety, without being a burden to others, 
or to themfelves. The Chriflian is not indeed allowed 
to feek great things for his family, or to be defirous of 
advancing them much above his own rank in life : yet 
he will judge it bell, if the Lord will, that they fhould 
not be deprefTed very much below it, at learl by his 
fault ; for that condition, in which men have been 
brought up, is generally the fafeft for them. 

But the principles of the gofpel will efpecially in- 
fluence thole who are actuated by them, to defire the 
bleffings of falvation for their beloved offspring. This 
will induce them to recommend them to God in fervent 
conftant prayer, from the time that they receive their 
being •, and to inftil inftruclion into their minds as foon 
as they become capable of receiving it. They will ear- 
ly begin to llore their memories with wholefome words ; 
to lead their attention to the fimpbr parts of the holy 
Scripture ; to imprefs them with a fenfe of their rela- 
tion to God and to an eternal (late, efpecially by means 
of family worftiip ; to bring them under the public and 
private inftructions of faithful minifters ; to watch for 



Eph. vi. 4. Col. iii. 22. 



304 On the Believer's Attention Essay XXI. 

opportunities of fpeaking ferioufly to them, and of en- 
quiring what they have learned ; and to encourage them 
in proposing queftions on religious fubjecb, by anfwer- 
ing fuch as they can with propriety*. They will alfo 
endeavour to keep them from all places and compan- 
ies, and to remove out of their way all books, pictures, 
or other things, by which their principles maybe cor- 
rupted, their imaginations polluted, or their pafiions 
inflamed ; even as they would lay poifon out of their 
reach. They will more decidedly reprove vice or im- 
piety, than any chiidifh neglect or waywardnefs ; and 
avoid all that converfe or behaviour in their prefence, 
which might counteract the tendency of fuch inftruc- 
tions, or fan£Hon the pride, avarice, fenfuality, love 
of grandeur, envy, or malignity of their nature. 

It is peculiarly incumbent on religious parents to con- 
vince their children, as they approach to maturity; not 
only that they acl: in all other things confeientioufly ; 
but alfo, that they are more attentive to their comfort 
and intereft, and more ready to forgive their faults, than 
irreligious parents would be : though they cannot toler- 
ate their vices, or concur in exceptionable plans of ad- 
vancing or enriching them ; becaufe the Scripture holds 
forth fuch alarming examples to warn men, not to grati- 
fy their children by dishonouring God or injuring their 
neighbours-]-. It behoves parents, however, to remem- 
ber the time when they were young ; and not to thwart 
the inclinations of their children when grown up, 
without fubftantial reafons, ; left they fhould throw 
fnares in their way. They fhould rather endeavour to 
manifefl a difpofition to concur in every thing con- 
ducive to their fatisfacUon, if it can be done confiftent- 
ly •, that by thus encouraging their confidence in them, 
they may have the falutary influence of experienced 
counfellors, when the direct exercife of authority 
would endanger oppofition. In particular, they cer- 
tainly fhould rather aim to guide, caution, and advife 



* Exod. xii. 26....2S, Deut. vi. 6...9. Psal. lxxviii, 6***8. 
t 1 bam. li, 22„„36. 



Essay XXL to Relative Duties, 305 

them, in refpect to marriage, than to compel and ref- 
train them in an abfolute manner : remembering that 
peace of mind, a good confcience, domeflic harmony, 
and a connection favourable to piety, conduce more to 
happinefs even in this world, than wealth, or confluence 
of all earthly diflinctions. Many directions might be 
added, in refpect of the conduct to be adopted by par- 
ents, when children appear to be under ferious impref- 
fions : but the fubject is too copious to be difcuiTed in 
this place. 

This is the mod important perhaps of all relative du- 
ties, and the neglect of it is productive of the moil fatal 
confeque'nces : for, befides thofe parents, who in vari- 
ous ways are acceflary to the murder of the fouls of their 
own offspring ; even they, who feem to regard other 
parts of Scripture, often overlook the command "to 
" bring up their children in the nurture and admonition 
" of the Lord* ;" and either by neglect leave their 
minds like an uncultivated field, or by example and harm 
treatment prejudice them againfl the gofpel, or indif- 
creetly lead them into fuch diftorted views of it as are 
of fatal tendency. Indeed the methods are innumerable 
by which parents fail of their duty in this refpect : and 
whilft numbers act as if they did not much care, 
whether their offspring were happy or miferable here- 
after •, it is to be feared that few, if any, are free from 
blame in this important concern. 

It may here be proper to add, that they who in any 
way undertake to bring up the children of others, are 
required in many refpects to perform the duties of par- 
ents to them. On the other hand, fuch young perfons 
owe a meafure of that refpect, gratitude obedience, 
and affection to them, which have been defcribed as due 
from children to their parents : and this cafe is not al- 
tered, even when elder brothers or fillers are the per- 
fons on whom this charge has devolved. In like man- 
ner the other fuperior relations are entitled to a mea- 
fure of filial deference and attention ; and ought to per- 
form many parts of the parental office to their junior re- 



Eph» vi. 4, 



306 On the Believer's Attention Essay XXL 

latives : efpeciaily if their parents are dead, or incapa- 
ble of performing it, or be wholly inattentive to them, 
and they capable of bringing them up without burdening 
ftrangers. 

III. The duties of brethren in the fame family towards 
each other mould not be wholly omitted on this occaiion. 
The love which, is fuppofed to fubfift among fuch en- 
deared relations, is the fcriptural ftandard of that pure 
and fervent aflV&ion, which Chriftians ought to bear 
one towards another : the former therefore fhould not 
be treated as an inftin£hve propensity, but regulated by 
precept as a Chriftian duty. The children of one fami- 
ly, when they live much together, cannot, in the pre- 
fent Hate of human nature, fail to meet with many tri- 
vial affronts and injuries from each other ; which will 
interrupt domeftic harmony, unlefs great circumfpec- 
tion be ufed not to give offence even by rudenefs and 
uncourteous familiarity, and a conftant endeavour be 
made to oblige, and to render one another eafy and 
comfortable, joined with perfevering forbearance, tor- 
givenefs, and various conceffions. For want of thefe 
attentions, perpetual bickerings and laftmg animofities 
frequently fupplant brotherly love ; and they who fhould 
be, through life, faithful and tender friends, are often 
more eftranged than almofl any other perfons ! Of fuch 
bad confequences are the competitions, envies, and 
jealoufies that take place in families 1 and fo careful 
ought parents to be, not to lay a foundation for them by 
an injudicious partiality, and not to treat them as mat- 
ters of little moment* ! They likewife who affociate fo 
much together, as young perfons in this relation com- 
monly do, muft have many opportunities of influencing 
each other's principles and ccnducl : thefe are frequent- 
ly made a very bad ufe of \ and falfe principles are often 
inftilled, and encouragement given to various things 
contrary to their duty to God, their parents, or others, 
even where no grofs immorality or impiety appears. 
But that love, which evangelical principles increafe and 



* Gen. xxxviu 3, 4. 



Essay XXI. to Relative Duties. 307 

direct, will not only be difinterefted, conceding, felt- 
denying, liberal, and peaceful •, but alfo prudent, pious, 
and holy : and they who are influenced by it will aim, 
by feafonable caution, counfel, or expostulation, enforc- 
ed by kindnefs and a confident example, and accompa- 
nied by fervent prayer, to guard fuch dear relations from 
fnares and dangers, to inftill good principles, and to 
win them to attend to the concerns of their fouls. Nor 
will ic be improper in this cafe to fpeak more plainly, 
and debate the matter more fully, efpeciaily with thofe 
who are younger than themfelves, than they fhould do 
with parents or fuperior relations : and it is very com- 
mon for the Lord to blefs fuch endeavours, and thus to 
make them the foundation of the mod permanent friend- 
ship. The duties of the other collateral relations, who 
dweli much together, are in great meafure he fame. 

IV. The reciprocal duties offervants and mafters are 
the lafl of thofe, that belongs to domeftic life^ The 
condition of fervants differs widely at prefent from 
what it was when the New Teftament was penned : 
for then they were generally flaves, the property of 
their mafters \ whofe fervice they could not leave, but 
who might difpofe of them as they pleafed, or punifh 
them with almoft uncontrouled feverity. This could 
never confift with the law of «* loving our neighbour 
" as ourfelves ;" though it pleafed the Lord to tolerate 
and regulate it in the judicial law of Mofes, (as he did 
polygamy and divorces :) and the ftate of things, at the 
fir ft opening of the Chriftian difpenfation, rendered it 
improper for the minifters of religion direftly to attack 
a fyftem, which was infeparable from the foundation 
of every government then exifting in the world. This 
difference, however, gives the greater energy to the 
exhortations which the facred writers addrefs to fer- 
vants profefling the gofpel ; except, that they may now 
leave thofe places where they are ill ufed, or in which 
they are reftrained from attending on divine ordinances, 
or hallowing the Lord's day. Yet this liberty mould 
be ufed with much caution : for every place has its dis- 
advantages, and every mafter, (as well as every Ser- 
vant,) his faults-, and men often incur much detri- 
ment, and forfeit manifold advantages, through im- 



308 On the Believer's Attention Essay XXL 

patience under a fingle inconvenience. Efpecially fer- 
vants fometimes purchafe a trivial increafe of wa^es at 
an enormous price. 

The believer, therefore, who is " called being a fer- 
" vant," or who finds it neceffary for him to enter upon 
this kind of life* fhould remember that the Lord hath 
conftituted thefe different fituations in fociety, for the 
fame reafons as he hath allotted the feveral members in 
the body their diitin£t offices, viz. for the common be- 
nefit of the whole : and that he hath chofen fervitude 
as the beft fituation for him,. to which appointment he 
requires his unreferved fubmiffion. He fhould alfo 
confider the place in which he lives, as the poft for 
the prefent affigned him, which he muft not relinquifh 
without fubftantial reafons, nor without fervent prayer 
for direction ; and if this be determined on, he ought 
nevertheiefs to perform the duties of his place without 
remiffion, whilft he continues in it. If he wants a 
fituation, he fhould feek a fuitable one from the Lord, 
in dependence on his providence and promifes ; and 
prefer that which affords the greater! advantages for 
religious improvement, though it be fomewhat more 
laborious or lefs lucrative. — And here it may be pro- 
per to remind both fervants and mafters, that though 
there are many vain talkers and deceivers, yet there 
are alfo true Chriflians : it is, therefore, the height of 
abfurdity for believers to prefer the fociety of ungodly 
perfons in any relation, becaufe they have been dif- 
gufted and ill ufed by hypocrites. Men do not throw 
away bank-notes becaufe they have been cheated by 
forged bills-, and no difappointment fhould caufe them 
to defpair of finding the far more valuable treafure of a 
Chriftian mafler, or fervant ; unlefs any one fhould 
fancy himfelf to be the only true Chriftian in the land ! 
If pious fervants are favoured with a fituation in a 
religious family ; they fhould remember, that equality 
in Chrijlia?i privileges by no means implies equality in 
dome/lie life : inftead therefore of behaving with an un- 
becoming familiarity, or neglecting their mafters' orders 
" as if they defpifed them •," they fhould " count them 
" worthy of all honour, and rather do them fervice, be- 
" caufe they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the 



Essay XXI. to Relative Duties. 309 

« benefit*." And as they are confcious of much im- 
perfection in themfelves, they ought to make allowances 
for it in them alfo. They mould value the privilege of 
family worfhip very highly, even though it be not in all 
refpe&s conducted exactly to their mind ; and they 
ought fo to order all their bufinefs, that nothing may 
interfere with their conitant attendance, or with the 
regular obfervance of the Lord's day. Should pious 
fervants find themfelves placed in families, in which 
they cannot but deem the profeffion of religion to be 
vain ; thev ought not haftily to mention their opinion, 
or fpeak about it with harfhnefs : on the contrary, they 
fhould aim by a good example to exhibit the difference 
between the form 'and the power of godlinefs. Even 
when they live in families where ignorance and ungodli- 
nefs prevail ; they ought not to fpeak freely on the 
faults of their mafters, oraflume the office of an autho- 
ritative teacher : for no man would be pleafed to have a 
fpy or a reprover in the character of a fervant. 

The Chriftian fervant will efpecially aim to " adorn 
K the doctrine of God our Saviour ;" by chearful obe- 
dience to every lawful command, diligence in all the du- 
ties of his ttation, and faithfulnefs to the truft repofed 
in him *, remembering, that his maintenance and wages 
are the price his mailer pays for his time and (kill. 
Confifteney will require him to prefer the credit, ad- 
vantage, or comfort of his mafter or family to his own 
eafe or indulgence, and to manifeft peculiar fympathy 
and tendernefs in times of ficknefs and afHiclion ; to 
fpeak exa& truth on all occafions ; not to purloin, or 
join with thofe who defraud his mafter in fmall matters ; 
nor by any means at all to connive at fuch petty dif- 
honefly, however fan£tioned by cuftom, or whatever 
contempt and ill-will he may incur by his confcientiouf- 
nefs. It will difpofe him to ftri£t frugality, and to fee 
that no wafte be made ; and alfo to confult his mafter's 
inclination in the manner of doing his work. If he be 
juftfy blamed, he will learn to bear it quietly, Owning 



* 1 Tim. vu 1....5, 
J) d 



310 On the Believer's Attention. Essay XXI, 

himfelf wrong, and doing better another time : if he be 
blamed without caufe, or rebuked with harfhnefs, (not 
to fpeak of more outrageous treatment,) he will endea- 
vour to recollect the fcriptural rule, " of not anfivering 
** again ;" the neglect of which is productive of innum- 
erable evils, efpecially to fervants themfelves*. He 
will remember that the Apoftle fays, " Servants be fub- 
" ject to your matters with all fear ; not only to the 
"good and gentle, but alfo to the frowardf:" and 
though ill ufage may excite his paflions ; he will not de- 
liberately fay, " I do well to be angry ;" but will con- 
fider Him, who " when he was reviled, reviled not 
again, " when he fufFered he threatened not." For we 
all are called to copy his example, as well as to fhew 
the reality and excellency of our religion, by doing well 
and furTering patiently, and however fuch a fervant 
may be neglected by an auftere, injurious, earthly maf- 
ter, yet he fhall certainly receive a gracious recompence 
from the Lord:}:. Thus his principles will teach him 
not to be an eye-fervant and a man-pleafer, attentive to 
his bufinefs only in his matter's prefence ; but in fingle- 
nefs of heart to do the will of God, and to refer every 
thing to the honour of the Lord Jefus, and the credit 
of his gofpel ; not fo much fearing man's difpleafure, as 
difgracing the caufe of evangelical religion by his mif- 
conduct. 

Such an habitual behaviour, in a fervant profeffing 
the gofpel, will not only conduce to his own intereft, 
credit, and comfort, but will procure attention to any 
ferious remark he may make, or commendation he may 
give to a book or a preacher. It will difcountenance 
vice and impiety, nay, perhaps it may difpofe fome to 
examine the nature of that religion^ which produces 
fuch excellent fruits : whilft violent and zealous dif- 
putes for doctrines, in him whofe conduct is difobliging 
and impertinent, not to fay flothful and difhoneft, ex- 
pofe to contempt the very truths for which he con- 
tends. The fame principles will alfo lead a man to 



* Tit. ii. 9, 10, f 1 Pet. ii, 18....25. 

$ Eph. vi. 5„..8. Col. iii. 22....25. 






Essay XXI. to Relative Duties, 311 

follow after peace with his fellow-fervants. He will 
not indeed fiiently fee bis mailer defrauded) or join 
with others in riot : but he will avoid a morofe and in- 
vidious conduct ; not reporting or even protefling 
againft trifles, but only againft rnanifefl evils; endeavour- 
ing by kmdnefs, patience when ridiculed, and fcrgive- 
nefs when injured, to win their attention to calm dif- 
courfe on divine things. He wiilalfo take care, never 
to feek his own iritereft by countenancing children in 
mifcondu£l to their parents or each other \ though he 
will oblige them for their good. He will not treat the 
indigent relations or dependents of his mailer with gal- 
ling negle£l, or attend on them with grudging. It he 
be obliged to refufe obedience to an improper command, 
he will do it with mildnefs and refpe£l. If his time be 
too much taken up on the Lord's day, he will endea- 
vour to redeem what remains more diligently ; and if 
he be conflrained to leave his place, he will be careful 
how he needlefsly lefiens his mailer's character in his 
own vindication. The fame rules, with circumitantial 
alterations, fuit the cafe of apprentices and labourers 5 
and all who are employed by others, according to the 
degree and nature of the truil repofed in them*. 

On the other hand, mailers are alfo inilrucled in 
their duties, by directions and examples in the holy 
Scriptures. The Chrillian's principles will influence 
him to confider true piety as an invaluable acceffion to 
the character of a fervant, who fuits him in other re- 
fpecls ; and to feek the bleffing with fervent prayer, 
and by making his place defirable to fuch perfons. If 
he be thus favoured, he will endeavour to behave to 
his fervant, as to a brother in the faith : he will make 
proper allowances for miflakes and defects; and value 
a fervant who, on the whole, is faithful, upright, dili- 
gent, and peaceable, though he be not without faults ; 
knowing how much the comfort of his family, and the 
beil intereils of his children depend on fuch domeiiics. 
If he meet with bad fervants, he will ilrive to reprefs 
his anger, to avoid reproaches, and to behave well to 



Gen. xxiv. 



312 On the Believer's Attention Essay XXL 
them till he can change them. If his fervants fuit him 
in other refpects, but are ftrangers to religion ; he will 
life all proper means of conciliating their minds to it. 
Jn general, fuch a mafter will not expect more work from 
his fervants than they can well perform j nor deprive 
them of time for relaxation and retirement. He will 
deem it his duty to give them adequate wages, and to 
make their fituations as comfortable, as he can. He 
will provide them with things fuitable to their ftation 
when in health, and be very tende/to them in ficknefs ; 
procuring them help in their work under flighter indif- 
pofkions, and proper advice, if he can, in more acute 
difeafes*. He will not think himfelf juftified by cuf- 
tom, in turning away a faithful fervant by fending him 
to an hofpital, becaufe he cannot do his work, if he 
have it in his power to prevent it ; but will confider, 
that he who has the benefit of his fkill and labour 
when well, ought to fubmit to trouble and expence for 
him when lick. Nay, if he can afford it, he will copy 
the example of the Lord, in refpetl: of the aged ; as H< 
does not forfake his fervants in their old age, or whei 
their ftrength faileth. " Remembering that he alfo 
ii hath a mafter in heaven," he will confult the interefts 
of his fervants, and be a fincere and faithful friend to 
them, in whatever may tend to their comfortable itt- 
tlement in life. He will not keep them at a difdainful 
diftance, or anfwer them with harfhnefs, even when 
they are miftaken or unreasonable ; nor exprefs dis- 
couraging fufpicions of thern, or defcant on their faults 
to others. 

The fame principles will influence him, to confider 
the fouls of his domeftics as entrufted to his care. He 
will, therefore, order his affairs fo, as may give them 
mod leifure and opportunity for hallowing the Lord's 
day ; and ufe his authority in enforcing that obferv- 
ancef. He will read the Scriptures to them, and join 
with them in family prayer •, he will arrange his daily 
plans in fubferviency to that grand concern, and avoid 
whatever may prejudice their minds againif. it. He 
will watch over their morals and principles, and ex- 



* Matt, viii. 1....9, t Gen. xvii! 



Essay XXI. to Relative Duties, 313 

elude from among them infectious companions, as 
much as poffible. Thus he will make family religion 
the cement of family peace, and not only aim to in- 
fluence his fervants by love to willing obedience, but to 
give them caufe to blefs the day when they entered his 
doors, both in this world and for ever*. 

Many other relative duties might be difcuffed ; but 
this topic has already occupied a full proportion of the 
limits prefcribed to thefe Effays. — Subjects are required 
to obey the lawful commands of magiftrates, to refpeEl 
their perfonsy and reverence their authority , as God's or- 
dinance ; not to fpeak evil of them \ to pay them tri- 
bute confcientioully ; to pray for them, and to ftudy to 
be quiet and mind the duties of their Ration. —The du- 
ty of rulers and magiftrates, as far as it falls under 
our pbn, will be mentioned in an EiTay on the im- 
provement of talents. — The poor ihould behave with 
refpeel: to the rich, without envying, coveting^ or re- 
pining. — The rich ihould be courteous, condefcending, 
companionate, and liberal to the poor •, and fet them an 
edifying example of piety.— The young ihould behave 
with modefty, deference, and attention to the old, eU 
pecially to fuch as are godly, however poor they may 
be.— The aged mould temper gravity and ferioufneis 
with chearfulnefs and kindnefs, in their conduct to the 
young. — The faithful paftor will ftudy from the Scrip- 
tures his duty to his flock ; and the confiftent Chriftian 
will, even in this relaxed day, confider himfelf as bound 
to honour, love, and attend to his faithful paftor. — Iti 
one word, true Chriftianity will influence every man to 
fill up his ftation, in the family, in the church, and in 
the community, to the glory of God, and the common 
benefit of the whole : and all, that comes fhort of this, 
is the effe£t of remaining contrariety to its heavenly 
principles, in the judgment and difpofitions of true' 
Chriftian s ; and among thofe who name the name of 
Chrift, but depart not from iniquity. 



* Acts, x. 7. 22. Eph. vi. 9. Col. iv. 1, 
Dd2 



ESSAY XXII. 

On the Christian 9 s Improvement of his Talents* 

W HEN the humble penitent has obtained peace 
of conscience by faith in Chrift, and enjoys a prevailing 
hope of eternal life •, he will be difpofed, in proportion 
as his views are diftincT: and confident, to enquire fe- 
rioufly by what means he may moft effectually glorify 
the God of his falvation, and do the greateft good to 
mankind during the remainder of his days. For " the 
" love of Chrift" fin dying on the crofs to deliver fin- 
ners from the wrath to come, and to purchafe for them 
everlafting felicity ; and in calling him to partake of fo 
ineftimable a bleffing,) " will conftrain him — to live no 
" longer to himfelf, but to Him who died for him and 
" rofe again." This will induce him to confider, very 
attentively, what advantages or opportunities his fitua- 
tion affords him, of promoting the honour of the Re- 
deemer's name ; the peace, purity, and enlargement of 
his kingdom \ the comfort and edification of his people ; 
and the welfare, temporal and eternaL of the human 
fpecies. Thefe opportunities and advantages are com- 
monly called talents, from the parable which our Lord 
fpoke on this fubjecl;* : and doubtlefs this portion of 
Scripture, and that coincident with itf . relate entirely 
to this matter ; and cannot reafonably be thought to 
point out the method of falvation, as if the improvement 
of natural powers or common grace could merit or procure 
fpecial grace , as fome have confufedly argued. For in- 
deed, fpecial grace produces the inclination and difpofttion 
to ufe natural powers, and all other advantages, aright, 

* Mcitu xxv. 14....30. - t Luke xux. il....^7. 



Essay XXIL On Improvement of Talents. 315 ; 

There are a variety of endowments and opportunities, 
which may be improved to the bed of purpofes ; but 
which wicked men employ in gratifying their bafe luffs, 
to the increafe of their own guilt, and the injury of all 
around them ; and which formal profefTbrs of religion, 
who harbour hard thoughts of God, and a fecret diflike 
to his fervice, as it were, bury in the earth. Of thefe, 
the true difciple of Chrift will: avail himfelf ; and by 
occupying with the talent entrujled to him, he will become, 
as " the light of the world," and " the fait of the 
t( earth*." Every man has fome meafure of thefe advan- 
tages afforded him, according to the appointment of in- 
finite wifdom, which alfo affigns to each perfon his fta- 
tion in the church, and in the community : and if a 
man profefs the gofpel, the ufe he makes of thefe ad- 
vantages is one of the mofl decifive tefts, by which the 
fincerity of that profeffion may be afcertained, and the 
degree of his grace eftimatedf . But the improvement, 
and not the number, of his talents, will be confidered 
in thedecifion: "he that is faithful in little, is faithful 
'* alfo in much;): :" and whilft the fervant, to whom 
many talents have been entrufted, may be more exten- 
fively ufeful •, he that hath improved a very fmal propor- 
tion will be equally favoured of his Lord ; and the poor 
widow's two mites may be more evidential of fincere love 
and fervent zeal, than the liberal donations of the 
affluent.. 

Every thing almoft, that we are, or pofTefs, or meet 
with, may be confidered as a talent: for a good or a 
bad ufe may be made of every natural endowment, or 
providential appointment ; or they may remain unoccu- 
pied through inactivity an felfifhnefs. — Time, heaith r 
vigour of body, and the power of exertion and enduring 
fatigue, the natural and acquired abilities of the mind, 
lkiil in any lawtul art or fcience, and the capacity for 
clofe mental application ♦, the gift of fpeech, and that o£ 
fpeaking with fluency and propriety, and in a convinc- 
ing, attractive, or perfuafive manner \ wealth, influ- 
ence, or authority -, a man's fkuation in the church, the 



* M it., v. 13.. ...16* f 2 Cor. viii. \ 8. James ii. 14.„.26» 
John, v iii. 17....20. i Luke xvi. 9....12. 



I 



516 On the Christian's Essay XXII. 

community, or relative life •, and the various occur- 
rences, which make way for him to attempt any thin 
of a beneficial tendency ; thefe, and many others tha 
can fcarcely be enumerated, are talents which the con 
fiftent Chriitian will improve to the glory of God and 
the benefit of mankind. Nay, this improvement pro- 
cures an increafe of talents, and gives a man an accef- 
fion of influence, and an accumulating power of doing 
good : becaufe it tends to eftabliih his reputation for 
prudence, piety, and integrity, fincerity, and difinter- 
efted benevolence ; it gradually forms him to an habit- 
ual readinefs to engage in beneficent defigns* and to 
conduct them in £ gentle, unobtrufive, and unaflummg 
manner ; it difpofes others to regard him with increaf- 
mg confidence and affection, and to approach him with 
Satisfaction ; and it procure* for him the countenance of 
many perfons, whofe afliftance he can employ in ac- 
compiifhing his own faiutary purpofes. For, as far as 
we are confident in our views of our calling and bufinefs 
in the world, we mail, both in the concerns of our own 
falvation and in endeavouring to be ufeful, imitate the 
ikiiful mariner *, who always keeps his port in mind, and 
gets forward in his voyage, by ufing every wind that 
blows to help him, as far as it can be done ; and avails 
himfelf to the utmoft of every circumitance that arifes 
from currents and tides, to accomplim his purpofe. 
We (hall however obtain a more diftincl view of the 
fubjeel:, by Selecting a fpecimen of thefe talents, and 
the improvement of which they are capable. 

I. Power arid authority conilitute a mod important 
truft, committed by the Great Ruler of the Univerfe to 
fome of the human race for the benefit of the whole, 
and of every individual as far as confident with it. The 
Scripture represents all power as originally derived from 
God ; and ail rulers as the minifters of his providence 
in governing the world, who muff render an account to 
Him, both of the manner in which they acquired do- 
minion, and the way in which they governed. Wav- 
ing therefore all queftions on thefe Subjects j it fufhees 
to fay, that too many, who in any way have exercifed 
authority over their brethren, have made a very bad ufe 
of it* Ambition, vain-glory, luft of dominion, rapa<* 



Essay XXII. Improvement of his Talents. 31? 

city, caprice envy, furious anger or dire revenge, fu- 
peritition, or impiety, have often influenced them td 
employ the power entrufted to them, in exciting and 
waging bloody wars, deiirucYive to their fubje£ts as 
well as to foreigners; in oppreffing and burdening ihe 
poor ; in favouring the exactions and oppreffions which 
they ought to have crufhed ; in protecting and advanc- 
ing the men whom they fhould have punifhed •, in 
haraffing thofe whom it was their duty to have protec- 
ted ; or in perfecuting their peaceable fubjecls for their 
religious opinions ; and thus augmenting, by various 
ways, the miferies which they were exalted on purpofe 
to remedy. — There have alfo been fome who, as princes 
or magiftrates, have upon the whole behaved negatively 
well : they have not waged unneceflary wars, or moleft- 
ed their fubje£ts by oppreffions or perfecutions ; but 
have been peaceably contented with the fplendour, dig- 
nity, and pleafures of their ftation, and have left it to 
their fervants to keep the machine of government in 
motion, They have indeed done far lefs mifchief than 
fome others ; but they have not done the good incum- 
bent on them ; nor prevented the evil which has been 
done, perhaps under the fan£Uon of their "names, and 
which they ought ftrenuoufly to have oppofed ; fo that 
they may be juflly faid to " have buried their talent in 
" the earth." — Other rulers and magiftrates, from na- 
tural principles, have made, in fome meafure, a faluta- 
ry ufe of their authority. They have enacted good laws, 
and adminiftered juftice with a confiderable degree of 
impartiality; they have taken care to prefer ve their 
country from foreign enemies ; and yet have avoided 
war as far as they confidently could, from a wife pre- 
ference of the bleflings of peace above the advantages 
arifing from the moll: fplendid victories. They have 
relieved the people from burdenfome taxes, and defend- 
ed the poor from oppreffions, and the pious from per- 
fecutions ; and, by thus providing for the temporal 
welfare of the ftate, they have obtained the endearing 
title of < Fathers to their people.' The real Chriftian, 
when placed in authority, will carefully imiiate this 
conduct from higher motives : and he will unite with 
it an uniform endeavour to render his whole adminiftra- 



i 

id 



818 On the Christian's Essay XXI 

tion fubfervient to the interefts of true religion ; and 
this constitutes the proper improvement of his talents. 
But not only « the king as fupreme" is entrufted 
with this talent : for all his counfellors and minifters of 
State, the members of the legiilature, and the magis- 
trates from the highefl to the loweft, have a degree, of 
power and authority veiled in them by the great Ruler 
and Judge of the world, and to him they muft be ac- 
countable for the ufe which they make of it. As they 
are placed in a confpicuous Situation, multitudes Scruti- 
nize their conduct, either to cenfure or to imitate it ; 
and confequently their example becomes proportionabiy 
more important. This will be an additional motive to 
the true Chriftian, to walk circumfpe£tly and accurately ; 
to fhew himfelf a pattern of a reverential regard to the 
name, the day, the word, the houfe, and the ordinances of 
God \ of Sobriety, temperance, moderation, and benefi- 
cence, in the ufe of outward things ; of equity, punc- 
tuality, fincerity, and fidelity, in all his tranfa£tions, prom- 
ises, and engagements; of meeknefs, cendefcenfion, cour- 
teouSneSs, kindneSs, and compaffion in all his deportment; 
and of attention to his domeltics, and to all the duties of 
relative life. He will endeavour to unite wifdom, firm- 
nefs, and juftice, with candour and clemency, in his 
public conduct ; to manifefl a diSmterefted, impartial 
Spirit , to be the patron of the poor, the opprefTed, and 
the friendleSs ; without reSpe£Hng the perSons, or fear- 
ing the ««»Hr/ta/difpleafure, of the rich and powerful ; 
and to cleave to what is right, without warping, even 
when his conduct excites the cenfures and clamours of 
an ill-judging multitude. His principles will influence 
him " to love righteoufnefs and hate iniquity ;" to pro- 
mote to the utmoft the peace of nations, the good order 
of the community, and the temporal advantage of all 
ranks of men in it. But they will alfo difpofe him to 
render all this fubfervient to Still more important pur- 
poSes ; and he will aim " to adorn" and recommend 
«< the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things ;" to 
Soften men's prejudices and Silence their clamours, and 
to win their attention to it by making them feel its be- 
nign effects. He will not indeed attempt to compel any 
man to affent to his creed, or conform to his mode of 



Essay XXII. Improvement of hh Talents. 31$ 

worfhip ; for this can only make hypocrites : but many 
things may be done by thofe in authority, to promote 
religion, confidently with the moft complete toleration. 
They may very properly reprefs, by coercive means, 
various kinds of vice and impiety, and endeavour to 
exterminate the feminaries and haunts of profligacy and 
villainy, and the fchools of blafphemy and profanenefs. 
They may furnifh the endowed feats of learning with 
teachers of found principles and good morals *, and 
countenance every reafonable plan for the good educa- 
tion of youth, and efpecially for inftruc~ting the chil- 
dren of the poor. They may protect from infults, 
and liberate from reftraints, fuch minifters of the goU 
pel " as labour in the word and doctrine •" and favour 
their being placed in extenfively ufeful fituations. They 
may felecl: young perfons, who give evidences of piety 
and ability, and affift them in obtaining that learn« 
ing, from which their circumftances would otherwife 
exclude them. They may render the admiffion into the 
miniftry open to able confcientious men, and clofe 
it againft the vicious, the ignorant, and the mercenary. 
They may (hew a decided regard to upright, diligent, 
and pious minifters, who differ from them in fome 
forms or fentiments ; and a marked difapprobation of 
the negligent and profligate, who pretend to be of their 
judgment. Thus authority may be improved as a tal- 
ent, in promoting the cauie of truth and piety ; in the 
religious inftru&ion of the people at large ; in prevent- 
ing the effects of the indolence, carelefsnefs, ignorance, 
and vice of thofe who ought to inftrucT: them; and in 
countenancing fuch, as would do all in their power for 
this purpofe." 

Books may alfo be difperfed, and multitudes taught 
to read. The attendance on divine worfhip may be 
encouraged, and every thing discountenanced that tends 
to keep men from it. Prifons, work-houfes, hofpitals, 
the army and the navy, may be fupplied with diligent, 
able, and pious teachers : and various focieties and 
plans may be formed and adopted, to promote this great 
end, by rulers and magiftrates who are zealous for the 
honour of Chrift, and the interefts of pure and unde- 
filed religion j and yet every man be allowed to worfhip 



320 On the Christianas Essay XXII. 

God according to his confcience \ and care alfo taken 
not to allure mercenary men to an unprincipled conform- 
ity. Thus the pious rulers of Judah, according to the 
difpenfation under which they lived y reftrained vice and 
idolatry, and fupported the worfhip of Jehovah ; from 
Mofes, Joihua, Samuel, and David, even to Nehemiah : 
and true religion uniformly flourifhed, in proportion to 
their prudent and pious endeavours. Nor would it be 
eafy to aflign a reafon* why the fame talent may not be 
improved to fimilar purpofes by Chriftian rulers, accord- 
ing to the genius of the new difpenfation : except it be 
thought, that becaufe mnny have abujed it by intolerance 
and tyranny , ail the rejl ought to bury it in the earth I a con- 
clufion well fuited to the lukewarm indifference, which 
in this age hath fucceeded to fiery zeal and cruel bigot- 
ry, and aflumed the dignified name of moderation ! But 
all judicio.us Chriftians will ,neverthelefs, continue to be- 
feech the Lord, to make all kings and rulers, like Je- 
holhaphat, Hezekiah, and Jofiah ; that they may be 
« nurfing fathers to the church ;" and neither fpare 
pains nor expence, to difperfe the knowledge of God's 
word, by able faithful men, throughout whole nations*. 
But let this fuffice on a fubje£t, coincident indeed with 
the plan, but in fome refpecls, perhaps, out of the fphere, 
of thefe Effays. 

II. Natural abilities and acquired knowledge conftitute 
a talent of great importance ; as they confer a diftin- 
guifhed reputation, and as they qualify a man to propa- 
gate with effecl: whatever principles he adopts. Nor is 
there any effential difference in this refpetl, between the 
more folid, and the more fhewy, kinds of genius and 
accomplifhment •, for each gives a proportionable de- 
gree of influence in different circles. Philofophers, 
poets, orators, hiftorians, and other learned and inge- 
nious men, poffefs a peculiar advantage for giving a 
o-ood or bad bias to the fentiments and conduct of man- 
kind ; though much lefs ability will enable a man to do 
extenfive mifchief, than is requifite for enlarged ufeful- 
nefs •, becaufe our fallen nature powerfully inclines to 



* 2 Chron. xvii. 7. ..10. xxix,..xxxii, Neti. viii. 



Essay XXII. Improvement of his Talents. 321 

that fide. But alas, it has been 'abundantly proved, 
that far more abufe diftinguifhed talents, than make 
even a tolerable improvement of them : and the fatal 
fuccefs, with which the deformity of vice, and the un- 
reafonablenefs of impiety and infidelity, have been var- 
ni'fhed over by vain re'afonings, ingenious mifreprefen- 
tations, and empty declamations, fet off with all the 
charms of ftyle and the authority of deep erudition ; 
and with which the violations of God's law, the negle<St 
of his worfhip, and the contempt of his gofpel have 
been diiTeminated, by men of genius and learning, in 
books of ail kinds and on all fubjech, can never be fuf- 
ficiently lamented. Nor has fuperior eminence \a paint- 
ing, fculpture, or other elegant arts ; or the charms of 
engaging converfation ; or the fafcinating powers of 
niufic ; or the talent for fine fpeaking ; or that for 
theatric imitation of nature and real life, been lefs 
fatally abufed. If then every one muft give an account 
to God, for the ufe he makes of his natural and ac- 
quired endowments, and for the confequences of all his 
actions : fuch as have employed ! talents angel-bright,' 
during their whole lives, in doing the work of evil 
fpirits, by poifonitig the principles, and corrupting the 
morals of whole nations, and of fucceiTive ages, will 
one day receive a dreadful recompence for thofe works, 
which have given them the molt flattering celebrity 
among their ill-judging fellow-mortals ! — A man may, 
however, employ fuch endowments in a comparatively 
inoffenfive manner, and yet fall vfiry fhort of improving 
his talents. He may fo yield to indolence, diffidence, and 
love of retirement, or be fo incapable of coming up to 
that ftandard of excellency which he hath fixed for him- 
felfj that he may totally flip his opportunity of ufeful- 
nefs ; wafte the day of life in doing nothing to any 
purpofe ; live plauftbly tohirnfeif; and, inflead of " oc- 
*' cupying with his Lord's money," or even " giving it to 
if the exchangers," he may " hide it in a napkin," and 
" bury it in the earth." We mud not indeed conclude, 
that all who are reprehenfible in this way are " wicked 
" and flothful fervants" in their whole character : yet 
our Lord's language on this fubje£t, and the examples 
of thofe who on a death-bed have mourned over the 

.be 



322 On the Christian's Essay XXII, 

opportunities of ufefulnefs which were then for ever 
gone, fhould teach every difcipie to be diligent " while 
f.« the day lafleth^and before the night cometh in which 
"no man can work." 

But evangelical principles will influence the confift- 
ent believer, whilfl careful not to over-rate his talents, 
ferioufly to enquire what advantages they give him for 
glorifying God and doing good ; and to endeavour to 
avail himfelf of them, without yielding to inactivity, 
defpondency, fear of difficulties, or regard to the praife 
of men. A perfon of this character, who is held in 
eftimation for learning or genius, may be very ufeful, 
even by fanctioning with his decided approbation the 
faithful miniflers of Chrift. ; by recommending inftruc- 
tive publications; and by profeffing and pleading for 
the doctrines of genuine Chriftianity, anfwering ob- 
jections to them, and Hating them in a clear and fcrip- 
tural manner. His character will introduce him to 
numbers, from whom his undiftinguifhed brethren are 
excluded - 5 and give a fphere of activity in which he 
may fubferve the temporal interefts of mankind : and 
his principles will influence him to improve thefe advan- 
tages, that with prudent zeal he may recommend the 
gofpel to them. As books written by miniflers of re- 
ligion are read with an abfurd prejudice ; (for who obr 
jects to a treatife on medicine, becaufe it was written 
by an eminent practitioner in phyfic ?) fo the learned 
and ingenious among the laity may do eminent fervice, 
by a teftimony from the prefs to the truths of religion, 
which will not have this prejudice to encounter : and 
the poor efpecially will be exceedingly prepofTcflqi in 
favour of fuch plain tracts, as men of this character 
condefcend to write and difperfe among them. And 
furely none will deliberately maintain, that fuperior 
talents may be better employed, than in recommending 
thofe things " which angels defire to look down into ;" 
and in glorifying Chrift and promoting the falvation of 
fouls. Learned men might alfo do eminent fervice, if 
they would infufe into thofe approved publications on 
various fubjects, by which they attract the attention of 
mankind, a favour of evangelical religion ; as an anti- 
dote to the poifon conveyed in the poems, hiftories, and 



Essay XXII. Improvement of his ' Talents. 323 

fcientific treatifes, which are fent out by the enemies 
of revealed truth. — In fhort, the confident Chridian 
will take care not to abufe his endowments in any way 
to do mifchief to mankind, whatever lucre or credit it 
might procure him •, and he will endeavour, with per- 
fevering diligence, to do good in the world by every 
means in his power : and if he have only a mediocrity 
of talent, he will occupy with it according to the duty 
of his ftation, as one who expects the coming of his 
Lord, and defires to be numbered with thofe faithful 
fervants whom he will bid to enter into his joy. 

III. The pafioral office is a fubjecl of too great im- 
portance, to admit of any adequate difcuffion in this 
place. Yet, as a talent that demands improvement , it 
mud not be wholly omitted. Such perfons, as have 
been mentioned, may often be led to examine how far 
the due improvement of their talents may require them 
to enter into this facred office : and though many con- 
siderations may induce them to decline it \ yet the love 
of eafe and lucre, or the fear of contempt, mould not 
deter them. The facred miniftry is, in all refpeclis a 
good work : and he who defires to be the Lord's fleward 
in fo important a concern, ihould carefully fcrutinize 
his motives and intentions, andfeek, with unremitting 
diligence and fervent prayer, every qualification for the 
due performance of it. Alas, what numbers utterly 
neglect thefe things, and rufh into this mod facred and 
important office, from the lowed motives, and in the 
word manner imaginable ! Let us pity and pray for 
them, for in general, " they know not what they do :" 
and perhaps they who defign them for this profeflion, 
and they who concur in admitting them into it, have the 
greater guilt. 

The Apodle's meffage to Archippus may be confider- 
ed as addrefled to all who are actually entered : " Take 
« heed to the minidry which thou had received of the 
« Lord, that thou fulfil it*'." Such are "fewards of 
" the myiteries of God ;" ambaffadors for Chrid to tin- 
ners ; watchmen to give warning, as they will anfwer 
for it at their peril •, fiepherds " to feed the flock of 
" God, which he hath purchafed with his blood •," 



* Col. iv. 17. 



324 ' On the Christian's Essay XXIL 

labourers in his vineyard, and builders in his holy temple. 
Surely then they who have received fueh a miniftry, 
fhould renounce " the works of darknefs" and " the 
'* hidden things of difhonefty ;" they " fhould take 
" heed to themfelves and to their dc£trine •," and they 
fhould labour and not faint," but " endure hardship" 
and face danger " as good foldiers of Jefus Chrift." 
They fhould be " inftant in feafon and out of feafon }" 
and laying afide all worldly pleafures, diverfions, and 
purfuits ; all avarice, ambition, and mere fecular ftudies, 
which fubferve not the end of their holy calling ; they 
fhould devote their hours, health, abilities, and in- 
fluence to the fervice of the fancluary, " giving them- 
(i felves wholly thereunto." Nothing, however lucra- 
tive, creditable, or congenial to their tafte, fhould 
engrofs thofe powers and that time, which they have 
moll folemnly engaged to employ in feeking the fal- 
vation of fouls : for the defire of fpending their lives in 
this good 11 work, in preference to more lucrative and 
eafy fituations, feems to be that very call of the Holy 
Ghoft, by which men are indeed " moved to take this 
" facred office upon them." 

The confiftent believer therefore, whether his office 
in the church be more exalted or more obfcure, will 
certainly endeavour to improve it as a talent, by all 
means in his power, and with fteady perfeverance. 
His example, domeftic concerns, converfe, doctrine, 
public miniftry, private labours from houfe to houfe, 
attention to the inftrudion of children, influence over 
his brethren in the miniftry, occafional fervices, em- 
ployment of time fpared from necefTary duties, or 
money faved from current expences, will all be adverted 
to, in fubferviency to the end he has in view : he will 
delight in his work, ftudy the fcriptural rules and ex- 
amples for his conduct, and pray to be made an able 
minifter of Jefus Chrift. But they, who are concerned 
in this fubjecl:, may eafily enlarge on thefe hints in their 
private meditation. 

IV. Wealth is a talent entrufted by the great Pro- 
prietor of the world to fome for the good of many. It 
is indeed commonly fo wafted in gratifying all the fenfes. 
and appetites, « the luft of the fkfh, the luft of the eye, 



Essay XXII. Improvement of his Talents, 3fc. 

" and the pride of life y 3 or fo hoarded up in idolatrous 
avarice ; that it is confidered in Scripture as exceedingly 
dangerous to the fouls of thole who poffefs it # . Yet the 
wife man had reafon to fay, that " money anfwereth all 
" thingsf -" as it may be extenfively ufeful to others, 
and thus eventually profitable to the faithful (reward 
himfelf : and « the wifdom that is from above" will teach 
the Chriftian to make this ufe of it. The wealthy are 
not required in Scripture to part with their eftates *, nor 
is it generally advifable to aboiifh all diflin&ion between. 
them and their inferiors in their ftyle of life. Nay, fuch 
men as are engaged in lucrative bufinefs, provided it be 
lawful and they are on their guard againft. its fnares, will 
generally be more ufeful by carrying it on as the Lord's 
fervants, and uling its profits as his {rewards ; than by 
retiring from it in the prime of life, to a ficuation which 
perhaps hath not fewer fnares, and certainly inferior ad- 
vantages for doing good. — The confiftent believer how- 
ever will* be influenced by his principles to retrench a va- 
riety of fuperfluous expences, and exceedingly to mode- 
rate his defires of providing for his family, that he may 
raife a fund for charitable and pious ufes : and whilft he 
mews a readinefs for every good work, by which the 
wants and miferies of men may be relieved : he will 
efpecially endeavour to render all his liberality fubfer- 
vient to the mo*e imoortant i-nterefts of religion. This 
may be attempted by difieminating divine truth in the; 
world, as the only feed of genuine piety and holinefs, dif- 
periing ufeful books, affifting in the religious education of 
children, training up pious young men for the mmiftry, 
or in various ways promoting the faithful preaching of 
the gofpel. Wealth gives a. man influence alfo ; and the 
affluent Chriftian may uie this influence to important pur- 
pofes : and when the leifure'W affords is accompanied by 
a fuitable turn of mind, he may do more good by an 
edifiying example, pious converfe, and prudent efforcs, in 
his own fphere, (from which others are often excluded ;.) 
than by retiring from it, even though he mould expend 
in charity what would be faved by that meafure. His 



* Matt, xix. 23...,26. 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. 17....20. 
f Eccles. x.- 19. 

E e 2 



326 On the Improvement of Talents. Essay XXII. 

conduce may likewise be rendered very ufeful among his 
tenants, domeftics and neighbours : and, if he frequent 
ly difperfe his charity with his own hands, accompanied 
by his pious exhortations, and affectionately ferious dif- 
courfe, it will have a vaft effect in conciliating men's 
minds to his religious principles. But indeed, the re- 
flections already made fuffice to fhew in general how 
his talent may be improved ; and particulars oh fo co- 
pious a fubject, in this compendious Effay, can fcarcely be 
expected \ — only it may be added that far more fhould 
be thus employed, than commonly is. 

They alfo, who are in more narrow circumftances, yet 
have a talent to improve even in this refpect Much 
might be faved from fuperfluous expences by molt Chris- 
tians, to employ inthofe good works which are " through 
{f Chrift Jefus to the praife and glory of God." Nay, 
fuch as labour working with their hands, are expected to 
give fomething to thofe that are in want*. 

This fpecimen may illuftrate what is meant by " the 
improvement of talents." Many others might properly be 
mentioned : but brevity muft be confulted. — Time is an 
univerfal talent which every Chriftian fhould redeem from 
ufelefs ways of hiling> that he may imploy it in fome be- 
neficial manner ; for idlenefs is intolerable in a difciple 
of Him who « went about doing good. 5 ' Every man 
has influence in his own circle, however contracted, and 
may approve it to good purpofes. For did we duly con- 
fider our obligation to God our Saviour, the great end 
for which our lives are continued, and the near approach 
of death ; a defire would be excited in our hearts to live 
to his glory, and to ferve our generation ; and this would 
influence us to improve all our advantages to this pur- 
pofe. And were every profeffor of the gofpel "thus 
« ftedfaft, un moveable, always abounding in the work 
« of the Lord ;" the bieffed effects that would follow, 
may in a meafure be conceived, but can never be fully 
eftimated. 



Eph. iv..28. 



ESSAY XXIII 

On Prayer. 



A 



.S " every good and every perfect gift Is from 
<« above, and cometh down from the Father of lights '" 
fo none of thofe things that accompany falvation, can be 
done in a proper manner and to good effect, except as 
we feek communications from God by the prayer of 
faith. It muft therefore be effential to the defjgn of this 
compendious publication, to treat exprefsly on a fubject 
of fuch great ufe and importance. 

The worQiip, which the Lord requires of us, may be 
diftinguifhed into adoration , thankfgiving and fupplication, 
Con teai plating the glories of his nature, as dilplayed in 
his works and revealed in his word, we exprefs our reve- 
rential awe of his greatnefs and majefty, and our admiring 
love of his infinite excellency, by adoring praifes, and by 
celebrating the honour and harmony of all his attributes : 
recollecting our perfonal obligations unto him, as our 
Creator, providential Benefactor, and Saviour; we de- 
clare our grateful fenfe of them in thanfgiving, general 
and particular : whilft the defire of holinefs and happi- 
nefs, and the love of our fellow creatures, joined to a 
conviction of our weaknefs and poverty, and a confidence 
in the Lord's goodnefs and mercy, dictate prayers for 
ourfelves and others : and in all thefe refpects we ren- 
der to the Lord the glory due to his name. In fpeaking 
therefore more particularly concerning prayer, it is not 
meant to exclude or overlook the other- parts of divine 
worfhip ; but rather to confider them as connected with 
it, and as bearing a proportion to the enlargement of our 
hearts, " in making our requefts known unto God." Yet 
as prayer is efpecially the employment of poor and helpkfs- 
finners oh earth, and the introduction to thofe praifes 
and thankfgivings, which are anticipations of the work 



328 On Prayer. Essay XXIIJ 

and worfhip of heaven -, Co it may be proper, in this 
place, to confine our enquiries principally to this part of 
divine worfhip. 

Prayer, in its very nature, is the expreffion of depen- 
dence, indigence, defire, and expectation. Petitions can 
fcarcely be offered with propriety to thofe, on whom a 
man has no kind of dependence. The rich will rather 
buy than beg : but he that has no money, and is unable 
to earn any, is likely to be induced by neceffity to the 
humiliating expedient of fupplicating relief. Yet he can- 
not heartily afk thofe things of which he is not in want, 
or which he feels no defire to obtain. And at lafr, what- 
ever his dependence, indigence, or defires may be, he 
will not be difpofed to petition any one, whom he confi- 
ders as totally unable or unwilling to relieve him. 

Prayer, therefore, in the rnoft general feme, implies a 
belief, and contains an acknowledgment, of the being 
and perfections of God 3 of his prefence with us, and of 
our dependence on him for " life, and breath, and all 
" things." It includes a confcioufnefs that we are in- 
fufficient for our own happinefs \ that we cannot defend 
ourfelves- from dangers- and calamities, nor fecure our 
lives, health, limbs, fenfes, mentai powers, poffeffions, 
and relatives ; that we cannot obtain the Aire fupply of 
all our wants, nor find comfort in life or death ; and that 
all our fellow creatures are unable to do thefe things for 
us. It further fuppofes, that we earnejlly defire the things 
for which we pray ; and believe that the Lord is able, 
and hope that he is willing, to grant the requefts which 
we prefent unto him. " He that cometh unto God,- 
«< muft believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of 
" them that diligently feek him*". Ir is therefore evi- 
dent, that all who deny the particular providential go- 
vernment of God ; and fo afcnbe every thing to fecond 
caufes, independently producing their effects, by chance 
or neceffity, as to exclude the immediate operation of the 
Great Firft Caufe, cannot with any propriety of language 
be faid to pray. Whatever fenfe they may have of 
their indigence, and whatever may be their hopes and 
defires, they cannot feel a dependence on God, or form 

* Hob. xi, 6. 



Essay XXIII. On Prayer. 329 

expectations of help from him : and every expreffion 
which feems like prayer, is either ufed by fuch men as a 
mere expletive without meaning, or it muft be a virtual 
renunciation in that inflance of their avowed principles. 

But we are not io much concerned to enquire about 
the prayer that might be offered by rational creatures^ 
who, however faultlefs, are in themfelves indigent and 
dependent ; as about that of fallen and ruined Jtnners : for 
fuch we all are. This part of worihip, indeed, may be 
eonfidered as a duty required by the divine law: for the 
command " of loving God with all our hearts," certain- 
ly requires all men to beg of him to make them happy 
in his favour and prefence j and fmners (if allowed to 
hope for fuch a^blefling,) muft furely be bound to de'fire 
and afk for this forfeited felicity 5 for how can any rea- 
sonable being be fuppofed to love God fupremely, who 
does not deiire, and will not requeft, reftoration to his fa- 
vour, renewal to his image, the enjoyment of his love, 
and the capacity of glorifying him ? 

Neverthelefs prayer is here eonfidered efpecially as a 
mean of grace , to which we are directed and encouraged by 
the go! pel. It is, therefore, in this fenfe, an expremon 
of our entire dependence on the unmerited mercy of 
God, as juftly condemned tranfgrefTors, for pardon, ac- 
ceptance, and all thing pertaining to eternal falvation. It 
fprings from "poverty of fpirit^ Jr or a humble confeiouf- 
uefs that we are " wretched, and miferable, and poor, 
*f and blind, and naked*;" that we have neither wifdom, 
righteoufnefs, holinefs, ftrength, or any difpofition and. 
ability for thofe things to which we are exhorted by the 
word of God y and that none of our fellow creatures can 
give us any effectual help, in this our deplorable condi- 
tion. It implies ilncere and vigorous defires, yea, hun- 
gerings and thirftings, after God and fpiritual bleffings, 
(which cannot be bribed, diverted, or afluaged by wordly 
things ;) ariiing from a deep conviction of mind, that 
the declarations of Scripture concerning a future ffate, 
the refurrection of the dead, judgment, heaven, and hell, 
are great realities, compared with which all elfe is a 
vanifhing dream and an empty fhadow : and it imports 



* Rev. iii. 17, 18. 



330 On Prayer, Essay XXIR 

alfo, that we have a prevailing perfuaflon and hope, not- 
withstanding our finfulnefs and helpiefs mifery, that the 
Lord is ready to bdtow eternal bit flings on all who 
apply for them in the way of his appointment. Thefe 
convictions, deiires or preparations of heart for prayer*, 
admit of various degrets; but without fome meafure of 
them no man is capable of praying aright. They who 
are wife in their own eyes cannot be difpofed to afk wi£ 
domof God: the publican's prayer cannot be the language 
of the proud Pharifee's heart : nor the fenfual, avari- 
cious, or ambitious, fmcerely requeft the mortification of 
their favourite paffions, or the renewal of their fouls to 
the divine image \ unlefs fome contrary influence hath 
begun to change their judgment and diipofkions. 

Hence arifes that difficulty which men generally ex- 
perience about prayer ; and the need they have of forms 
and helps, even in their moft fecret retirement : for in 
this cafe, fuch forms are often a vain effort to teach a 
man to pray for thofe bleffings, which are diametrically 
oppofite to his determinate judgment, and to the pre- 
vailing inclinations of his heart. The ftarving wretch, 
whofe urgent wants have overcome his relu&ancy to 
beg, needs only encouragement, and words flow fpon- 
taneoufly from his genuine defires of relief : but the rich 
man, who fhould chufe to a£fc the beggar, muft learn 
his part and how to perform it, by rule, ftudy, and 
practice. The fears, hopes, and defires of the condemn- 
ed criminal infpire him with an energetic, though per- 
haps rude, eloquence, when allowed to fupplicate the 
clemency of his prince : and even the little child finds 
apt words to a fie his parent for food, and to complain 
of cold or pain. Why then cannot men find language, 
when they would befeech the Lord to give them the 
bleffings promifed in his word ? Becaufe the fate of their 
hearts is fo contrary to thofe bleffings, that they feel no 
want nor defire of them. Did experience prove that 
the Lord uniformly conferred health, long life, wealth, 
fuccefs, and honour, on all that prayed for them ; men 
would generally get over their relu£tancy to this humi- 
liating fervice, (notwithftanding their natural independ- 

* Ps. x. 17. 



Essay XXIII. On Prayer. S31 

ence of fpirit •,) and find no difficulty In framing perti- 
nent, earned, and importunate petitions for things fo 
fuited to their carnal minds. Yet they find themfelves 
not only reluEl&nt, but Jlrangely at a Jofs, when they 
would pray for fpintua.1 gifts. Wherefore ? Becaufe 
they are not congenial to the defires of their hearts. 
When our Lord on earth " went about doing good," 
they, who felt their miferies, and earnedly defired re- 
lief, expecting it from his power and love, applied to 
him with fuitable and earned petitions : butiothers were 
more ready to fay with the unclean fpirit, " what have 
" I to do with thee, Jefus ; I beSeech thee, torment 
% me not ;" or to " intreat him," with the Gadarenes, 
(S to depart out of their coafts -" than to cry after him, 
" Jefus, thou Son of David, have mercy upon me.'* 
Pride, therefore, a carnal mind, alienation from God, 
contempt of fpiritual bleffings, and unbelief - are the fole 
teafons, why men .neglecl: prayer, or are unable to pray 
aright, except by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 

But when we conuder how great, glorious, and holy 
the Lord is, and how guilty and vile we are ; the ques- 
tion feems not fo much to be, whether the (inner ought 
to pray ; as, whether he may be allowed to come with his 
Supplications into the prefence of his offended Sovereign? 
The humble and Self abaSed will not doubt, but that 
the permiffion given to a rebellious worm, to prefent a 
petition for pardon and falvation to the glorious God, is 
an a£fc of grace : and indeed, it is always looked upon as 
fuch, when a prince receives a petition from a rebel 
under a deferved fentence of condemnation. But the 
Scripture places this matter in a much ftronger light i 
for the whole legal conditution, concerning the Sanc- 
tuary, the veil, the priedhood, and high-priefthood, 
the Sacrifices and burning of incenfe, and efpecially the 
great dav of atonement, (on which alone even the high- 
pried might enter within the veil to the mercy-feat, with 
the blood of the fin-offerings, and the fmoke of the 
fragrant incenfe ;) were mod evidently defigned to (hew 
what intervening obdacles mud be removed, before the 
God of infinite judice and holinefs could, confidently 
with his glory, permit Tinners to approach him, even 
on a mercy-feat, to prefent their humble Amplications 



332 On Prayer. Essay XXIIL 

for pardon and reconciliation. And, though under the 
New Teftament we are invited « to come bo.dly to the 
<{ throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
" grace to help in time of need :" yet we have no accefs, 
except by " the new and living way, which Jefus hath 
" confecrated for us, through the veil, that is to fay 
« his flefh," given as a facrifice for fin* ; and by his 
high-priefthood, which is the fubftance of all thofe an- 
cient ihadows. Whilft, therefore, we fpeak of the en- 
couragements given to the vileft of finners, even from 
the firit moment that they defire mercy, to prefent their 
prayers before the throne of grace •, and whilft we de- 
termine, that prayer is a part of the worlhip required of 
us by the divine law, and therefore, an universal duty : 
we fhould never forget, that it is a moil furprifing in- 
ftanceofthe Lord's condefcenfion and companion, and 
one of our mod valuable privileges, that we are allow- 
ed to make our requefts known unto him, with well 
grounded hopes of acceptance •, for thofe actions may 
be our indifpenfable duty, which through our guilt and 
pollution it may yet be totally improper for the Lord to 
accept at our handsf." 

In order to encourage the prayers of finners the Lord 
•difplays his glory from a throne of grace ; here he 
« waits to be gracious," and to difpenfe pardon and - 
every bleffing, to all who afk for them by faith in Jefus 
Chrifb Had he been revealed merely as feated on a 
throne of 'glory , fuftaining the character of a righteous 
Law-giver and an impartial Judge, a kind Friend to the 
obedient, but a terrible Revenger of the rebellious •, it 
might well have been faid, " Jehovah reigneth, let the 
people tremble :" but as he hath made himfelf khown 
on a mercy-feat as " God in Chrift, reconciling the 
" world unto himfelf;" it may be faid, "the Lord 
" reigneth, let the earth rejoice" The whole plan of 
the gofpel, as it relates to the Perfon, nghteoufnefs, 
atonement, and mediation of Emmanuel, is evidently 
intended to give encouragement to the trembling (inner 
to feek mercy from the God and Father of the Lord Je- 

* Heu. iv. 6. x, 19....22. t * ■ i. H.,,,15. 



Essay XXIII. On Prayer. 333 

fus Chrift The general invitations of the gofpel fuper- 
fede the neceffity of enquiring who may come in this 
new and living way ? " Let him that is athirft come, 
« and whofoever will let him come." The feaft of divine 
love is provided, " all things are ready •," and the mef- 
fengers 01 falvation are not only commanded to invite all 
they meet, but even « to compel them to come in," by 
every argument, perfuafion, expostulation, and encou- 
ragement they can devife \ for thefe are the means, by 
which the holy Spirit produces the willing mind, and 
gives trie praying heart. The very appointment of this 
way i.«f applying for falvation, is a complete encourage- 
ment to all who feel defires after the bleffings of the gof- 
pel, and are willing to become humble fupplicants for 
them : as it implies that the Lord purpofes to beftow 
them as free gifts on indigent beggars ; and not on thofe 
who would buy, earn, or deferve them. For in this 
cafe prayer, is the very language of poverty and diftrefs, 
which guilt alone hath brought on any part of the ra- 
tional creation of God 

Every general command or exhortation, therefore, 
to pray, is an encouragement to all who defire to pray ; 
and whatever guilt they have contracted, or in what- 
ever depths of temptation and mifery they are plunged, 
it fays to them, " Be of good comfort, arife, he calleth 
" thee." Such general exhortations abound in Scrip- 
ture : they are often addrefled to the vileft tranfgrefTors, 
and are commonly connected with abfolute promifes ; 
« Afk, and it fhall given ;"— " for every one that afketh 
" receiveth, &c.*" — Such piomifes do not indeed en- 
gage, that God will hear the prayers of the formal, 
the hypocritical, or the impenitent, who may (like the 
unclean fpirit) pray veryjincerely % " torment me not," 
and yet hate true religion as much as ever ; for " the 
" prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord." 
But when the vileft tranfgreflor is fo far humbled and 
foftened, as to pray from his heart for mercy and grace, 
and all the bleffings of falvation, as " the gift of God 



* Is. lv. 7. 8. Jer. xxix. 11...13. xxxiii. 3, Ezek. xxxvi. ;5..,27. 
37. Zech. xii, 10. Matt. vii. 7. ..11. John, iv. 10. Acts, viii. 22. 
F f 



334 On Prayer. Essay XXIII. 

■«< through Jefus Chrift ;" he begins " to offer the pray- 
" er of the upright, in which the Lord delighteth*." 

Thefe aflurances are confirmed by the examples of 
Scripture : when Manafieh, vile as he had been, began 
to humble hirnfelf, and pray to the Lord ; he was not 
upbraided with his abominable crimes, but mercifully 
accepted, pardoned, and delivered-}-. When it could 
be faid of perfecuting Saul, " behold he prayeth !" no 
further doubt remained of his acceptance and reconci- 
liation. The publican, who loathed hirnfelf as much 
as the Pharifee difdained him, and who, not daring to 
come near, or " to lift up his e\es unto heaven, fmote 
*1 upon his breaft and faid, God be merciful to me, a 
" (inner ;" went down to his houfe juftified, rather than 
he who deemed it prefumption in fuch a wretch to pray. 
Even the fhort petition of the almoil expiring thief, 
" Lord remember me, when thou comeft in thy king- 
w dom," received an immediate anfwer full of aflonifh- 
ing grace. Nor is there one inftance upon record, of a 
fingle prayer being rejected, except for the hypocrify, 
wickednefs, and unbelief with which it was prefented. 
To all thefe encouragements we may add the frequent 
commendations beftowed on importunity, frequency, 
and fervency in prayer^ : and the teftimony of all the 
fervantsof God to his readinefs to hear and fave them, 
from the moil tremendous depths into which their fins 
had caft them, whenever they were brought to cry un- 
to him, and fay, " O Lord, I befeech thee, deliver my 
« foul." 

If then the vileft {inner, from the firil moment when 
he defires to pray, is warranted to come with humble 
hope of being heard and anfwered *, the fame confidera- 
tions mould much more enlarge the expectations, and 
confirm the confidence of thofe who " continue" (or 
perftfli) " in prayer" from day to day *, pleading, with 
perfevering importunity, all the promifes in the Re- 
deemer's name, and earneftly feeking for that wifdom, 
ftrength, grace and confolation, which may enable 
them to live to the glory of God, as well as for the 

* Prov. xv. 8, 9. f 2 Cliron. xxxiii. \ Luke, xviii. 1...13, 



Essay XXIII. On Prayer. 335 

pardon of their fins and the falvation of their fouls. 
" We have not, becaufe we afk not ;" we are flraitened 
in ourfelves, not in the Lord : and did we more enlarge 
and multiply our requefts, with greater fervency and 
importunity, we fhouid be enabled to exchange many 
of our complaints for joyful praifes. This is evident 
in a great degree from our own experience, if we be 
indeed experimentally acquainted with the life of faith 
and prayer : for who can deny that his inward fupports 
and comforts, his ftrength to refill temptation and to 
endure labour and fuffering, have borne fome propor- 
tion to his frequency and fervency in prayer ? 

The word of God contains the moil decifive and em- 
phatical language on this fubje£t. The Apoflle fays, 
" The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man 
" avalleth much ;" yet the only righteous men on earth 
are penitent believing finners : and we are in many paf- 
fages encouraged to expe£r. the mod abundant and fur- 
prifing anfwersto the prayer of faith*. — Many curious 
queftions have indeed been ftarted concerning the efficacy 
of prayer ; for tl vain man would be wife," but "the 
" Lord taketh the wife in their own craftinefs •" and 
fuch difficulties fpeedily vanifh from the ferious humble 
mind. Yet our Lord himfelf reminds us, that " our 
" Father knoweth what things we have need of, before 
" we a(k him+ :" and it is obvious that prayer cannot 
be requifite for the information of Omnifcience, or to 
difpofe the God of all grace to fupply our wants. But, 
when ferioufly engaged in, it tends directly to increafe 
our acquaintance with ourfelves, with our own character 
and wants ; to lead our attention to the promifes of 
GocT; to abftra£r. the mind from all felfifh and carnal 
confidences ; and thus to bring us into that humble, 
dependent, and waiting frame of fpirit, which is the 
preparation for duly receiving and ufmg every divine 
bleffing. To pray in a fuitable manner is in effect to 
fay, * Lord, we are poor vile, helplefs, wretched crea- 

* tures ; we have no other refuge to flee to, we know 

* Jer. xxix, 12, 13. xxxiii. 3. Matt, xviii. 19. Mirk, xi. 24. 
John, xiv. 13, 14. xv. 7. 16. xvi. 24. Eph. iii. 20. James, i. 
S-...7. v. 15...13. 1 John, iii, 22. v. 14, 15. t Matt. vi. S...8. 



336 On Prayer. £ssay XXIIL 

* not what to do, but our eyes are unto thee ; becaufe 
c we believe that thou art ever ready to forgive and fave 

* all that call upon thee.' As, therefore, the parent 
requires the child to afk thofe things that he intends to 
give j that the child may feel his dependence and obliga- 
tion, and be brought to a proper difpofition towards the 
parent : fo the Lord requires us " to make our requefts 

* known to him," that we may be prepared to receive 
his intended benefits with thankfulnefs, to notice his 
hand in them, and to give him the glory of them. And 
when our prayers accord to his precepts, are grounded 
on his promifes, imply fubmiffibn to his providence, 
and fpring from a fupreme defire of fpiritual blefTings ;■ 
when we pray for thofe things that are truly good for 
us, conducive to the advantage of our brethren, or in 
any way honourable to his name ; we cannot expert too 
much in anfwer to them; for u He is able to do e.x- 
il ceeding abundantly, above all that we afk, or think." 

The Scripture abounds with examples of the efficacy 
of prayer. Abraham ceafed to afk, even in behalf of 
Sodom, before the Lord refufed to anfwer him ; and 
** God remembered Abraham," in preferving Lot from 
the overthrow*. Jacob " wreftled with God and pre- 
m vailed" with him ; and in confequence Efau's heart 
was foftened and his rage difarmed : he fet out an enemy- 
yet met him a's a brother-}-. When Mofes prayed, Am- 
alek was difcomfited : and when he pleaded for Ifrael, 
the Lord faid " Let me alone, that I may deftroy them." 
The time would fail to fpeak of David, Afa, Jehofha- 
phat, Hezefciah, Nehemiah, and many others. Doubt- 
iefs the converfion of Saul was an anfwer to the prayer 
of dying Stephen : and v/e may fuppofe that the believ- 
ers at Damafcus were heard in their cries for protection 
from that cruel perfecutor, in a manner beyond their 
own molt enlarged expectations : and fo likewife were 
thofe at Jerufalem, when they prayed for Peter's deliv- 
ance from Herod;}:. 



* Gen. xviii. 17...33. xix. 29. f Gen. xxxii. xxxiii. 
| Acts, xii. 



Esssay XXIII. On Prayer. 33? 

But indeed, except in the cafe of miraculous inter- 
pofitions, the- fame is ftill experienced : and the more 
any man has made the trial, the fuller will be his aiTent 
to this truth. The Chriftian, who has been frequent, 
fervent, and particular in his fupplications, for a length 
of time, has doubtlefs found that many of his petitions 
(defective and defiled as he knows them to be,) have 
been manifeftly anfwered, both in his own temporal 
and fpiritual concerns, and in behalf of others ; often 
beyond his expectations, and contrary to apparent proba- 
bility. Some requefts have aifo been granted, not ex- 
actly in his meaning, but in a far more defirable way. 
He has prayed for the removal of the " thorn in the 
" flefh :" but the Lord hath anfwered him by (hewing 
the fuificiency of his grace, and employing the trial 
" to humble and prove him, and to do him good at the 
u latter end* ;" fo that the things, that feemed the moil: 
againft him have mod erTe&ually promoted his higheft 
intereft. Or he has round his prayers anfwered, by 
feeling his mind wonderfully reconciled to a denial, 
from a conviction that " he knew not what he afked ;.' 
or by a calm ferenity in waiting the Lord's time for 
thofe things which he had impatiently deiired. The 
caufes of his perturbation and anxiety remain, after 
his prayers have been prefented before God; but' the 
folicitude itfelf has given place to a divine "peace 
(l which paffeth all underftanding :" for he called on 
" the Lord, and was ftrengthened with ftrength in 
«' his foul." In fhort, he can fcarcely produce an iri- 
flance, in which he " poured out his heart" with ear- 
neftnefs and importunity, and yet failed of obtaining 
the bieffing he fought, or was not after a time fatisfied 
with the denial. In many cafes his interceffions for 
thofe around him have been gracioufly anfwered ; in 
others he may ftill retain hope ; and in all he may be 
allured, that they will return into his own bofom. 

The efficacy therefore of prayer, to bring light and 
wifdom into the mind, peace into the confeience, fub- 
miinon into the will, and purity into the affections *, to 



*2Cor. xii. 3. ..10, 

f f ar 



338 On Prayer. Essay XXIIL 

to keep our garments clean, our armour bright, and 
our hearts joyful-, to make us ftrong for the, conflict, 
for fervice, or for fuffering ; to obtain fufficiency for 
our place and work, and a bleffing on our endeavours ; 
to fecure peace with our enemies, or protection againft 
them •, to carry every point that is truly good for us *, to 
" bring down bleffings on our families, friends, and coun- 
try ; to procure peace and profperity to the church, the 
converfion of finners, and the fpread of the gofpel ; 
and for all things, which we can defire or conceive, 
muft be allowed by every man who reverences the 
Scriptures, or knows what it is " to walk with God.'* 
Did men /peculate and difpute lefs and pray more, their 
fouls would be like a watered garden •, fruitful, joyful, 
beautiful, and fragrant. Prayer is the firft breath of 
divine life : it is the pulfe of the believing foul, the beft 
criterion of health or ficknefs, vigour or debility. By- 
prayer we draw water with joy from the'wells of fal- 
vation : by prayer faith puts forth its energy, in appre- 
hending the promifed bleffings, and receiving from the 
Redeemer's fuinefs j in leaning on his Almighty arm, and 
making his name our ftrong tower •, and in overcoming 
the world, the flefh, and the devil. All other means 
of grace are made effectual by prayer : every doctrine 
and inftruclrion produces ^ its effe£t, in proportion as 
this is attended to; every grace revives or languifhes 
according to the fame rule. Our grand conflict with 
fatan and our own hearts is about prayer : the finner 
feels lefs reluctance and meets lefs refiftance, in refpecl: 
of all other means of grace, than in retiring to pour 
out his heart before God in fecret ; and the believer 
will find his chief difficulty to confift, in continuing in- 
ifant and fervent in this fpiritual exercife. If he fuc- 
ceed here, all elfe wih eventually give place before him, 
and turn out to his benefit and comfort. 

It mould likewife be remembered that prayer may be 
either public, focial, or fecret. Public worfiip moft 
honours God, and is the grand end of our afTembling 
together ; though few feem thus to underftand it. So- 
cial luorJlAp tends greatly to maintain brotherly love, 
and to bring down bleffings on families" and focieties. 
But fecret prayer is the grand mean of maintaining com- 






Essay XXIII. On Prayer. SS9 

munion with God, and keeping alive the power of re- 
ligion in the foul. Without this, the others degenerate 
into formality •, and the man himfelf continues devoid of 
life, ftrength, and comfort in the midft of them. Chrif- 
tians mould therefore remember to prepare for public 
and focial worfhip, by fecret prayer, meditation, and 
reading the Scriptures -, and not yield to the temptation 
of neglecting the one, by fpending too much time in 
the other. 

If we defire to pray aright, we muft carefully ob- 
ferve, that the Scripture always calls upon us " to pray 
" in the Spirit" or " in the Holy Ghoft" or rather « by 
(i the Spirit :" our firft petition therefore, mould be, 
that the Lord would graciouily give us his holy Spirit, to 
teach and enable us to pray. When this is duly attend- 
ed to, a very heartlefs beginning will often have a bright 
and encouraging conclufion, and our defires may be 
too large even for utterance ; but without it, words will 
often flow, that have little meaning and no correfpond- 
ent affe&ions*. We fhoul'd alfo be very particular in 
our fecret devotions ; both in confeffion, in fupplication 
for temporal and fpiritual mercies, according to our cir- 
cumftances, in thankfgivings, and in prayers for others : 
for whilft men deal in general words, they muft either 
be very fhort, and fuperflcial, or run into needlefs re- 
petitions. Occafional ejaculatory petitions alfo are a 
bleffed addition to ftated feafons of retirement. — All 
our prayers (hould be explicitly offered in the name, and 
through the interceffion, of the divine Saviour ; in de- 
pendence on his merits, with realizing expectation of 
fuccefs, and in a loving forgiving fpirit. 

Finally, a thorough acquaintance with the devotional 
part of the pfalms \ the petitions contained in other 
parts of Scripture ; and a careful obfervation of the re- 
queues which the facred penmen offered, the pleas thev 
ufed, the order and proportion they obferved, and the 
confefiions, adorations and grateful praifes they inter- 
mixed with their fervent fupplications for perfonal and 
public, temporal and fpiritual mercies, will be more ufe- 

* Rom. vi& '26, 57. 



340 On Baptism and Essay XXIIL 

ful to the ferious Chriftian, in this part of religion, 
than all other helps whatever. Above all, the Lord's 
prayer, well underftood and digefted, will teach him 
what the confidence and leading defire of his heart in 
every prayer fhould be 5 what are the bleftings efpecially 
to be fought for; and with what moderation and fub- 
miffion he fliould afk for temporal mercies, compared 
with the forgivenefs of his (ins, and deliverance from 
temptation and the tempter, from evil and the evil one : 
that, in approaching the throne of grace, he may 
" feek firlt the kingdom of God and his righteoufnefs ;" 
allured that " all other things will be added unto him." 



E S 8 A Y XXIV. 

On Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 



Xl MONG the ordinances, which the Lord hath 
appointed in his church, as means of grace and a£ts of 
folemn worfhip, fome have, from the earlieft times, 
been diftinguithed by the name of Sacraments. The 
word Sacrament originally figinfied the military oath 
which the commanders of the Roman armies required 
from their foldiers; and thefe inftitutions were consid- 
ered as folemn engagements to be faithful and obedient 
to Chrift, under whofe banner all Chriftians have en- 
lifted. In procefs of time facraments were multiplied, 
which gave rife to immenfe fuperftition and abfurdity : 
and as human nature continually verges to extremes, 
fo it may be doubted, whether numbers have not lately 
been induced too much to difregard ail diftin£tions of 
this kind. The word, however, is not fcriptural ; and 
the nature of the two folemn ordinances, which Protef- 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 341 

tants confider the only Sacraments under the Chriftian 
difpenfation, feems in general to be this: * In them di- 
' vine truths are exhibited to our fenfes ; and illuftrated 
' to our minds, by outward emblems, and the recep- 
' tion of fpiritual bleffings is reprefented by fignificant 
' actions. Thus obfervances in themfelves indifferent, 
' by divine appointment become a part of religious wor- 
« fhip, honourable to God, and profitable to us ; and 
« pofitive duties arife, where none before fubfifted by 
* moral obligation.' 

* Baptifm is the initiatory ordinance of Ghrijlianity ° 
as circumcifion unde*- the old difpenfation, from Abra- 
ham to the afcenfion of Chrift, was the door of admif- 
fion into the vifible church. It confifts in the application 
of water to the baptized perfon, «' in the name of the 
« Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft." 
Water is the univerfal purifier of our perfons, garments, 
houfes, ftreets, and cities \ it is effential to the beauty 
and fertility of the earth \ and it is the original element 
from which every liquor, that quenches our thirft or 
exhil rates our fpirits is derived. It is therefore, the 
conftant and moft expreffive fcriptural emblem of the 
pure and fatisfying bleffings conveyed to us by the gofpel ; 
efpecially of the purifying, enlivening, fructifying, and 
confolatory influences of the Holy Ghoft : and many 
ceremonies of the law, as well as the introductory 
baptifm of John, exhibited thefe benefits by the ufe 
of it. The whole of that happy change, which the 



* The design of this compendious publication renders it wholly 
improper to treat of this suljjeci in a controversial manner. Af- 
ter a long Rnd patient investigation, and mature reflection, the 
■writer is a Pcedo Baptist ; and his discussions will consequently 
be most applicable to those, who coincide with him in sentiment 
and practice. But he considers all as brethren who u love the 
" Lord Jesus in sincerity :" and would not willingly offend any man, 
who conscientiously differs frnm him m such matters ; he there- 
fore reasonably hopes for similar candour from his readers. The- 
disputes about the mode and subjects of Baptism seem to have too 
long occupied a disproportionate degree of attention ; whilst num- 
bers remain ignorant of the nature and obligations of the ordi- 
nance itself. Mr. Henry's observation seems well grounded ; 
c If infant-baptism were more conscientiously improved, it would 
' be less disputed,' 



342 On Baptism and Essay XXIV. 

Apoftle defcribes, may be denoted by the baptifmal 
water ; « But ye are warned, but ye are fanftified, 
¥ but ye are juftified in the name of the Lord Jefus, 
" and by the Spirit of our God*." This accords with 
the Lord's promifes by his prophet. " Then will I 
" fprinkle clean water upon you, and ye mall be clean ; 
" from all your filthinefs, and from all your idols will 
" I cleanfe you 5" and with various other paffages in 
the facred oraclesf. Yet Baptifm feems more imme- 
diately to reprefent the purifying of the judgment and af- 
fections from the pollution of fin , by the fanclifi 'cation of the 
Holy Spirit. The beginning of this work is therefore 
defcribed with reference to the outward emblem, as 
being " born of water and of the Spirit j" it is called 
(( the wafhing of regeneration^ and renewing of the Ho- 
" ly Ghoft, which God our Saviour pours upon us 
« abundantly •," and it is efpecially, though not exclu- 
fively, meant by « the baptifm of the Holy Ghoft;};." 

The appointment of this emblem, in the initiatory 
ordinance of Chriftianity, emphatically teftifies the 
doctrine of original fin, and the neceffity of regenera- 
tion : for it declares every man, as " born of the flefh," 
to be fo polluted, that unlefs he be wafhed with purify- 
ing water, he cannot be received even into the outward 
church of God : and unlefs he be inwardly cleanfed by 
the Holy Spirit, he cannot be a member of the true 
church. In this, it coincides with circumcifion, which 
implied, that without the mortification of the corrupt 
nature derived by generation from fallen Adam, and 
"the removal of that obflacle to the love and fervice of 
God, no man could be admitted into covenant with 
him§. And like that ordinance, it is " the feal of the 
il righteoufnefs of faith j" for he, and he alone, who 
pofTeires the inward and fpiritual grace, which both 
circumcifion and baptifm outwardly denoted, has a 
divine atteftation to the fincerity of his faith, and to 



* 1 Cor. vi. 9...11. f Ezek. xxxvi. 25...27. Ps. li. 2. 7. 

Zech. xii. 1. John, xiii. 8, xix. 24. Eph. v. 26, 27. 1 John, v> 
6. Rev. i. 5. vii, 14. ^ John, i, 31...33. iii. 3...S. Tit. iii. 

5, 6. § Deut. xxx. 6. Jer. iv. 4. Rom. ii. 28, 29. 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 343 

the reality of his juftification in the righteoufnefs of 
the Redeemer. The form of baptifm, " in," or into, 
" the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
" Holy Ghoft," contains an unanfwerable argument for 
the doctrine of the Trinity, and conftitutes a perpetual 
profeflion of it: it implies alfo that the baptized perfon 
is the avowed worihipper and fervant of God " the 
" Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft," who is be- 
come the Salvation and Portion of his people. 

When the Apoftles went forth " to teach," or dif- 
ciple, " all nations,'' to baptize them in this name, and 
afterwards to teach them more fully all things that 
Chrift had commanded, that they might obferve them* 5 
the converts, whether made from among the Jews or 
Gentiles, were baptifed on an intelligent profcjfwn of re- 
pentance and faith. When the Jews made profelytes to 
their religion, they circumcifed the adult males on fuch 
a profeflion, according to the nature of their difpenfa- 
tion : and Pcedo-baptifts, in fimilar circumftances would 
adopt the fame conduct. But we maintain (for reafons 
that have been repeatedly afligned,) that as the Jews 
circumcifed likewife all the males in the families of the 
profelytes, who were incapable of perfonally rejecting 
the Jewifti religion : fo the Apoftles baptized the houfq- 
holds of their converts ; including the females, and on- 
ly excluding fuch, as, being able to anfwer for therrv- 
•felves, gave evidence, byword or deed, that they did 
not obey the truth. Nay, we are of opinion that thofe 
children, who had one believing parent, though the 
other continued an unbeliever, were thus admitted, as 
relatively holy, into the vifible church of Chriftf . 

The adult convert, by receiving baptifm, acknow- 
ledged, according to the obvious meaning of the ordi- 
nance, that he was a (inner by nature and practice ; that 
he repented of his fins, and believed in Chrift for the 
forgivenefs of them *, that he renounced idolatry, and 
all other objects or forms of worihip, " to ferve the one 
" living and true God," in whofe name he was baptize 



Ms.tt. xxv"i, 19, 20. f Acts, xvi. 3, 15, 33. Rom. xi. 

16, 17. 1 Cor.i. 16. \ii.l4. 



344 ; On Baptism and Essay XXIV. 

ed ; tliat he cordially believed the truths of the gofpel* 
and relied on the mercy of the Father, on the media- 
tion of the incarnate Son, and on the grace of the Holy 
Spirit, for complete falvation j and that he fincerely 
purpofed to forfake all his (ins, and every confidence, 
purfuit, intereft, or indulgence, which interfered with 
thefe engagements. Thus he openly joined himfelf to 
the Lord, according to the new covenant in Chrift Jefus ; 
and, embracing its benefits as his portion and falvation, 
he lblemnly vowed to renounce the world, deny himfelf, 
bear his crofs, endure perfecution and- hardfh'ip, and 
fight againft fin and fatan, as a faithful foldier of Jefus 
Chrift, to the end of his days : and doubtlefs prayers, 
inftni&ionsj profeffions, and engagements to this efTe£t, 
accompanied the adminiftration of baptifm, as circum- 
ftances required or admitted of them. Such a folemn 
tranfadlion would tend exceedingly to confirm the faith, 
to excite the love, to ftrengthen the mind, and to en- 
courage the hope of the true convert. And though an 
hypocritical profeffion could anfwer none of thefe pur- 
pofes : yet we cannot determine, that confufed views, 
partial convictions, and general purpofes of following 
Chrift, might not frequently iffue in true converfation, 
even by means of this ordinance, and the prayers, in- 
ftru&ions, and admonitions, which preceded, attended- 
ed, and followed it ; for it does not become us to limit 
the operations of the Holy Spirit. The public admini- 
ftration of baptifm would likewife honour God, and the 
Chriftian religion; eftabhfh and edify believers by re- 
minding them of their privileges and vows ; make way 
for fubfequent exhortations, admonitions, or cenfures, 
in refpe£r. of the baptized perfon, as occafion required ; 
and excite the attention of numbers to the peculiar doc- 
trines of Chriftianity. 

The baptifm of the infant-offspring of fuch converts 
was likewife a folemn declaration that they defired the 
fame bleffings for their children, as they had chofen for 
their Own portion : and they thus pledged themfelves to 
the church, " to bring them up in the nurture and ad- 
" monition of the Lord ■/' giving them every inftru&ion, 
and ufmg all means of rendering them wife unto falva- 
tion. When they brought rhe children, which were 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 345 

afterwards born to them, to be baptized, they virtually 
renewed their former profefhon and engagements, and 
declared their perfevering purpofe of inftru£ting and 
commanding their houfeholds in the fear of God : and 
as the children grew up, fuch of them, as profited by 
thefe means, would personally accept of the privileges, 
and enter into the engagements, peculiar to Chriftianity, 
in the manner that will (hortly be confidered. 

As the number of profeffed Chriftians increafed, the 
baptifm of infants would proportionably grow more 
common : and when the progrefs of the gofpel among 
Jews and gentiles was lefs rapid, the baptifm of adults 
would not occur fo frequently. This accords with facts : 
and when the progrefs of error and fuperftition made 
way for the nominal converfion, and the baptifm, of 
whole nations, the baptifm of adults was feldom heard 
of, in countries previoufly profeffing Chriftianity. The 
indifcriminate adminijl ration of infant-baptifm, however, 
anting from a concurrence of caufes during many cen- 
turies, has produced many very bad effects ; and the 
abufes, mifapprehenfions, and criminal condu£t, which 
too manifeftly connect with it, have given many pious 
perfons a rooted averfion to that way of adminiftering 
the ordinance, and have furnifhed them with plaufible 
objections againft it. But when a ferious parent is per- 
fuaded, (notwithstanding all thefe crimes and abufes,) 
that the baptifm of the infant-offspring of believers ac- 
cords to the word of God, and, in compliance with 
what he judges his duty, prefents his children to be 
baptized : he folemnly ratifies and renews the profefiion 
and engagements of his own baptifm *, he avows his ear- 
ned defire, that the covenant made with him may be for 
the good of his feed alfo* *, and he engages to bring 
them up in the faith and obedience of the gofpel, as far 
as his inftructions, difcourfe, example, and prayers can 
have any influence. As they grow up, he, or other 
ferious relations, may profitably explain to them the na- 
ture meaning, and engagements of baptifm ; the blef- 
fings it Signifies ; the advantages of being thus early ad- 



* Jer. xxxii. 38. ..40. Acts, ii. 38, 39, 
G r: 



S46 On Baptism and Essay XXIV. 

mitted into the vifible church, and trained up as her 
children ; and the aggravated guilt of deliberately re- 
jecting the faivation and fervice of God, from pride of 
heart and carnal affections , or even of neglecting the 
means of appropriating thefe advantages, and comply- 
ing with thofe engagements, which their parents, or 
fenior friends, had entered into in their name, and for 
their benefit. Thus an additional avenue is opened to 
the confeiences of young perfons, and an additional 
reftraint impofed on their pafiions. — Minifters alfo may 
employ thefe topics with great advantage, in addreiling 
both the parents and the children, and even fuch as wifh 
to have their offspring baptized : and if this was done 
frequently and generally, both in public and private ; 
if baptifm was adminiftered folemnly before the congre- 
gation, and proper reference made to it in the fermon ; 
and if fome difcouraging barriers to thefe things were re- 
moved, the molt diffufive good might be expected. 

But even as matters now (land, the adminiftration of 
infant-baptifm has great influence, in giving valt multi- 
tudes fome ideas of the gofpel, efpecially of original fin, 
regeneration, and the Trinity : and whjllt all who act 
profanely, deceitfully, or formally, in this" matter, mult 
anfwer for their own crimes ; if good be done, either 
to parents, children, or others, and if the name of God 
be in any meafure glorified j the end of the inftitution 
is fo far anfwered, even though no fpeciai benefit ihould 
be thought to accrue to the baptized perfon. The pious 
parent may therefore reft (atisfied with performing 
what he confiders his duty. If the child live, the trans- 
action may be ufeful, by way of fubfequent improve- 
ment : nay,, we mult allow, that the Holy Spirit may 
in fome cafes regenerate the infant, in anfwer to the 
prayers of believing friends even at the time of baptifm ; 
without confounding the outward fign with the thing 
fignified, or fuppofing the facrament to produce the ef- 
fect bv its own inherent energy. Many other things 
connected with this fubjecl mult be waved, for the fake 
of brevity : but thefe hints may perhaps affift fome plain 
Chriiliahs to underhand the nature of baptifm, and 
their duties and obligations refp^cling it. The outward 
fign doubtlefs will not profit thofe who live and die 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 347 

with ut * the inward and Spiritual grace,' even « a death 
* unto fin, and a new birth unto righteoufnefs :' and 
the conduct of multitudes, who a£t in direct oppofition 
to the mod folemn engagements, entered into for them- 
felves or others, will render their doom more dreadful 
at the hit day, than that offews, Mahometans, Pagans, 
or avowed infidels. 

The Lord's fupper alfo calls for our peculiar attention, 
as it is of the greateft importance in the fyltem of Chris- 
tianity. When baptized perfons give hopeful evidence, 
that they are partakers of 'the inward and fpiritual 
grace, of the initiatory ordinance ; they mould be ex- 
horted to make, or renew, a perfonnl profeiiion of their 
faith in Chrift, their cordial acceptance of his falvation, 
and their purpofe of living according to his command- 
ments, by joining with his people in receiving the 
Lord's fupper : for this feems to be the fcriptural way oi 
making fuch a profeflion, whatever expediency there may 
be in other introductory obfervances. ■ 

Nothing can be more fimple in its own nature than 
this inftitution ; though fuperftition has been peculiarly 
fuccefsful in mifreprefenting, obfeuring, and perverting 
it. Our.bJefled Saviour, the evening before his cruci- 
fixion, havingjcelebrated the paflbver with his difciples, 
appointed the Lord's fupper to be a memorial of his re- 
demption, as the pafchal lamb had been a prejiguration 
of it. He therefore took bread, and by prayer, praife, 
and thankfgiving, fet it apart to be the representation of 
his body. He brake it, to (hew that his body mud be 
wounded, bruifed, put to great torture, and undergo 
death, for the redemption of his people ; and he direct- 
ed each of his difciples to eat of that bread in remembrance 
of him, to in{tru£t them in the way by which his atone- 
ment would be made effectual to their falvation. In 
like manner he took the ^up, and, renewing his pray- 
ers and thankfgivings, he bade them all drink of it ; as 
the wine reprefented his blood, which was about to be 
fhed to purchafe the bleffings of the new covenant, and 
to ratify it in behalf of the whole multitude of believers, 
for the remiffion of their fins. The language of Chrih: 
in appointing this ordinance is manifestly figurative, 
and cannot be literally interpreted ; (unlefs we mould 



348 • On Baptism and Essay XXIV. 

explain the material cup iff elf to be the blood of drift, or 
rather the new covenant :) and this renders it the more 
wonderful, that any fet of men mould be fo adventu- 
rous and abfurd, as to require all the church to believe, 
in contradiction to their fenfes, that the bread in the fa- 
crament, after confecration, becomes the real entire 
body of Chrift ! But indeed, the Scripture gives us no 
intimation. of any peculiar myftery in this inftitution ; 
though ftrong metaphors are employed, the more em- 
phatically to demand our attention to the importance of 
the thing fignified by the outward emblems*. 

From thefe Scriptures, I apprehend, we may learn in 
general, that our Lord commanded all his difciples, in 
every age to the end of the world, frequently to meet 
together in his name, and with folemn worfhip fuitable 
to the cccafion, to break, diftribute, and eat bread, the 
moll: falutary and univerfal of all viands, and to pour 
out and drink wine, .the moft valuable and refrelhing of 
all cordials. This action was intended to.be a perpetual 
memorial of Chrift, efpecially of his body broken, and 
of his blood fhed, for their fms. The body (for that 
alone could be reprefented by an outward emblem,) 
was doubtlefs put for his perfecl and entire human nature, 
as perfonally united to the eternal Wofjd and Son of 
God. His blood (the fhedding of which was the evident 
and immediate caufe of his death,) denoted the whole of 
his expiatory fujferings, which terminated when he ex- 
pired on the crofs. The dignity, righteoufnefs, and 
holinefs of the Redeemer ; the depth of his voluntary 
humiliation and the intenfenefs of his agonies \ the vaft- 
nefs of his condefcenfion and companionate love ; the 
deplorable ftate of deferved mifery from which he re- 
deemed finners ; the extenfive efficacy of his one 
oblation ; the honour and happinefs to which he exalts 
all true believers ; and the difcovery made in this great 
tranfa£Hon, of thejuftice and love of God, the excel- 
lency of his law, the evil of fin, the vanity of the world, 
and the importance of eternal things, (hould all be tak- 
en into the account, when we contemplate the death of 



* Mat. xxvi. 26....28. Mark, xiv. 22.,..24. Luke, xxii. 19, 20. 
1 Cor. xi. 2S....25. 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 349 

Chrift through the medium of thefe outward emblems : 
whiilt the attion, of eating the bread and drinking the 
ivine, illuftrates the manner in which the facrifice of 
Chrift becomes effectual ; by even * feeding on him, in 
* our hearts, by faith with thanksgiving*/ The Lord's 
fupper was inftituted in the evening, and probably the x 
difciples receiving it fitting : but as no command was 
given in this refpecl:, it may well be confidered as a 
matter of indifference, in which the validity of the or- 
dinance is not at all concerned. 

The very a£fc of receiving the Lord's fupper, implies 
a confeffion of our guilt and ruined condition, from 
which we could not have been faved, if Jefus had not 
died upon the crofs to redeem us ; a profeffion that 
we entirely believe the teftimony of God, refpe&ing the 
Perfon, undertaking, and atonement of Chrift, and the 
reality, fuificiency, and efficacy of his vicarious fuffer- 
ings ; an avowed dependence on the mercy and grace of 
God, according to the promifes and provifion of the 
new covenant, which was ratified by Emmanuel's blood 5 
an acknowledgment of our obligations to this moft gra- 
cious Benefactor, and an expreffion of our love and gra- 
titude to him ; a facramental engagement to obey him 
as our Lord anrl Saviour, furrendering ourfelves to him, 
as " bought with a price, to glorify him with our bodies 
" and fpirits, which are his j" and a public uniting of 
ourfelves to his redeemed people, to walk with them in 
chriltian love and fellowihip, in all the ordinances of 
divine worinip, and in all holy converfation and godii- 
nefs. 

It is, therefore, moft evident, that no man is prepar- 
ed for this facred ordinance, or capable of fmcerely and 
intelligently making that profeffion which is implied in 
it ; unlefs he be indeed a felf-condemned penitent ; who 
really believes the gofpel, and renounces all other confi- 
dences to " flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope fet 
" before him ;" and unlefs, in his moft fecret retire- 
ment, he endeavours to receive Chrift Jefus the Lord, 
as his Prophet, Prieft, Ruler, and Saviour, purpofing 



* Joiin, vi. 5o,.,.5t 
Gg2 






350 On Baptism and Essay XXIV, 

thenceforth to walk in obedience to him. The man, 
who habitually allows himfelf in known fin, or the ne- 
glect of known duty ; who harbours pride, envy, malice, 
avarice, or fenfual lulls in his heart j who comes to the 
facrament to compenfate for his fins, or to clokehis fe- 
cret tranfgremons ; who attends on it to quiet confci- 
ence by a felf righteous fervice, fubftituting the out- 
ward fign for the thing fignified \ or who ufcs it as a 
mere itep to fecular preferment, mull " be guilty of the 
« body and blood of Chrift," and eat and drink his own 
condemnation. But the humble trembling penitent, 
who would apply for falvation through the crucified 
Saviour, by ufing the means that he hath appointed, 
ought not to fufpe£l any fnare, or fear any danger in 
approaching the Lord's table •, even though many doubts 
may flill difquiet his mind, or great remaining darknefs 
obfcure his views. 

When the Corinthians had moft grievoufly profaned 
this ordinance, and expofed themfelves to fevere rebukes 
and corrections ; the Apoftle did not counfel them to 
feek for fecurity by absenting themfelves from it : and, 
though they might doubtlefs profitably ufe the advice 
and affiftance of their pallors or brethren, he did not 
direcl: them to be fatisfied with their decifions ; but " to 
" examine themfelves, and fo eat of that bread, and 
" drink of that cup*." It was incumbent on them to 
examine diligently, whether they were in the faith ? 
Whether they did truly repent and believe the gofpel ? 
Whether their profefilon was fincere, and their motives 
pure ? Whether their hearts and lives were confiflent 
with the holy religion they had embraced ? Whether 
they did cordially accept of the whole falvation of Chrift, 
and yield themfelves to his fervice ? And whether they 
came to the Lord's table, " difcerning his body," " re- 
« { membering his love," and feeking communion with 
him and his taints ? 

Such felf- examination muft always become profefTed 
Chriftians : not in order to find out fome excufe for 
neglecting to obey the dying command of their loving 

* 1 Cor. xi. 27....31. 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 351 

Saviour •, but in order to remember him with more fer- 
vent affection and more exalted thankfgivings. It is 
very ufeful, when we have the opportunity, to fet apart 
fome time previoufly to the adminiftration of the Lord's 
fupper, thus to re-examine ourfelves, to enquire into 
our progrefs in vital godlinefs, and to renew in fecret 
our cordial confent to the new covenant in the blood of 
Chrift. Such a preparation is efpecially important to 
the new convert, when (with the iuftru&ions and pray- 
ers of miniilers and pious friends ) he fTrft approaches 
to make this profeffion ; and to the backflider, when 
he is recovered from his wanderings, and defires to re- 
new' the folemn tran faction. In all cafes felf-examina- 
•tion mould be confidered merely as introductory to the 
exerciie of repentance and faith, the practice of works 
meet for repentance, and fervent prayers for divine 
teaching and grace to enable us more profitably to at- 
tend on the ordinances of God : for mould any one dis- 
cover, that at prefent he could not approach the Lord's 
table in a fuitable manner, he ought by no means to 
reft fatisfled with abfenting himfelf ; but mould rather 
be more earned in ufing every means of becoming an 
acceptable communicant. The believer however, who 
habitually examines himfelf^ and daily exercifes repen- 
tance and faith, may very properly receive the Lord's 
fupper without any further preparation, when an unex- 
pected opportunity prefents itfelf. 

It is evident, both from Scripture and the earlieft re- 
cords of the primitive church, that this ordinance was 
adminiftered to the profeffed difciples of Chrift in gene- 
ral, on every Lord's day at lead. T is frequent recol- 
lection of that great events which is the central point of 
our holy religion, was exceedingly fuited to increafe hu- 
mility, hatred and dread of fin, watchfulnefs, contempt 
of the world, faith, hope, love, gratitude, patience, 
companion, meeknefs, fortitude, and all other holy 
difpofitions. — Thefe are obvious and intelligible advan- 
tages ot frequent communicating, if it be done in a fe- 
rious., confiderate, and reverential manner : for the 
Lord's fupper as directly tends to ftrengthen and fefrefh 
the believing foul, as the bread and wine do to rWjrifh 
and invigorate the body. At the fame time, due hon- 



352 On Baptism and Essay XXIV. 

our is rendered to the Lord, by this repeated prefcfliort 
of our faith and love ; the fympathy of pious perfons, 
uniting in fo affectionate an ordinance, promotes edi- 
fication •, the great truths of Chriitianity are thus brought 
before the minds of increasing numbers ; and the pre- 
sence and bleffing of the Lord may confidently be ex^ 
pected, whiift we thus meet in his name, and prefent 
our prayers and thankfgivings before him. Indeed this 
inftitution was exprefsly intended to " {hew forth the 
" Lord's death till he come •" and this proves that the 
doctrine of the atonement is the moil *enential part of 
Chriftianity j and an habitual depende?ice on a crucified 
Saviour, the grand peculiarity of the Chriftian character. 
The abufes, that have taken place in refpetl of this 
ordinance, have at length produced a lamentable neglect 
ol it ; to the difhonour of the Rerkerner, and the in- 
creafe of that Jukewarmnefs of which it is a mani eft 
indication. No doubt the pharifaicah hypocritical, 
avaricious, and profane approaches of numbers to the 
Lord's table, constitute a molt heinous fin, which, un- 
lefs repented ofj wili vaitiy increafe their final condemna- 
tion. But they who through ignorance, impiety, care- 
lefTnefs, malice, or ferret crimes, are unfit for this holy 
ordinance, are equally unprepared for death and judg- 
ment : and when they withdraw, as Chriftians are about 
to commemorate their dying Redeemer, they fhould 
very feriouily recollect that they allow the mfe Ives to 
have no part or lot in the matter. Indeed, they are as 
incapable of praying acceptably, as of communicating 
worthily, whiift they live in wilful oppofition to the 
commands of Chrift, and in neglect of his great falva- 
tion. 

Some perfons likewife withdraw, apparently, left 
they (hould make too avowed a profeflion of religion, or 
bind themfelves too clofely to a holy life. As if this in- 
fiance of difobedience "would excufe their conformity to the 
world, and contempt of the favour and authority of their 
Judge! — Others are haraffed with groundlefs fcruples, 
left a well meant but unfuitable approach to the Lord's 
table mould exclude them from future pardon : though 
even the fcandalous profanation of the Corinthians was 
only vifitcd by temporal corrections, " that they might 



Essay XXIV. the Lord's Supper. 353 

„ might not be condemned with the world." Or they 
fear, left ibme fubfequent fall fhould render their cafe 
defperate : when Peter denied Chrift, the very night in 
which he had both celebrated the pafibver and the Lord's 
fupper, and yet he was gracioufly reftored ! — Thus the 
remainder of unbelief induces many who appear to be 
pious Chriftians in other refpe£ts to hefitate, and often 
to refufe obedience to this plain command, during their 
whole lives : whilit others feem afraid of communicating 
too frequently ; or make the languor of their affections a 
reafon for abfenting themfelves, by which it is exceed- 
ingly increafed. But let the new convert, who would 
thrive in his prof effion, fpeedily begin to confider this 
inftitution, and deliberately prepare for attending on it, 
as foon as he can do it fincerely : and let the believer 
gladly embrace every opportunity of communicating ; 
avoid whatever may unfit him for it ; and daily remem- 
ber the vows of God that are upon him to live to him 
who died for his falvation. 



ESSAY XXV. 

On the State of separate Spirits ; the Resurreclion, 
of the Body ; Judgment ; and Eternity. 



1 T is the grand defign of revealed religion, to draw 
off our attention and affections from things prefent and 
temporal, and to fix them on things future and eternal. 
Yet, fuch is the conftitution of the univerfe, and fuch 
the plan of the gofpel, that the regulation of our purfuits 
and actions, in fubordination to the interefts of the un- 
feen Hate, tends to produce by far the greateft meafure 
of happinefs to individuals, and to fociety, which can 
poffibly be attained in this prefent life. Whatever con- 



3,54 The State of separate Spirits; Essay XXV. 

je£tures or difcoveries the more rational of the heathen 
haa made in this interefting concern, or whatever inti- 
mations God had given about it to the ancient church ; 
it may with the ftri&eft propriety be faid, that " life 
" and immortality have been brought to light by the gof- 
u pel." For the New Teftament revelation elucidating 
and confirming that of the old, lias removed all doubt 
ami uncertainty about a future ftate of exiftence, except 
what arifes from our want of faith, or acquaintance 
with the holy Scriptures ; it hath given every needful 
iniiru£Hon on the important fubjett ; and i hath an- 
nexed to it that authority, which is fuited to render it 
influential upon our whole conduct. This decifive and 
complete information is of the greateft moment : for all 
error, obfcunty, or uncertainty in a matter of fuch vaft 
importance, mult proportionably t nfeeble and unfettle 
the mind ; and deduct from the efficacy of thofe mo- 
tives, which excite or animate the foul to vigorous ex- 
ertion, felf-denying obedience, patient fufferings, or 
courageoufly meetmg dangers, in adhering to the truth 
and will of God amidft the oppofition of this evil world. 
Our concluding EiTay therefore, will contain fome 
thoughts on the intermediate ftate \ the fecond coming 
of Chrift j the refurreclion of the body ; and the pro- 
cefs, rule, and event of judgment. 

The immortality of the foul is fully eftablifhed by 
the uniform teftimony of Scripture ; which fully de- 
clares, not only that it is created capable of endlefs exfence, 
but alfo that it is the unalterable pur pofe of the Creator it 
Jhould exijl to eternity.* It is impoflible in the nature of 
things, that this mould be proved by any reafoningsor 
arguments whatever •, becaufe the intention of God can 
be known by exprefs revelation alone. 

The language of holy writ conftantly implies, that 
the foul is capable of exerting its powers and faculties, 
in a ftate of feparation from the body. The Apoftle 
could not tell, " whether," during his vifiort, " he were 
" in the body, or out of the body* j" and he fpoke of 
being « abfent from- the body and prefent with the 



* 2 Cor. xii. 1...3. 



Essay XXV. The Resurrection, &c, 355 

" Lord*." We frequently read of " the things done 
" in the body '" which implies that the fame agent is 
capable of doing things out of the body " Our earthly 
" houfe of this tabernacle mud be difiblved, that we 
" may have a building of God, a houfe not made with 
" hands, eternal in the heavensf." Then the body 
" (hall return to the duft, and the fpirit to God;}; :" Ac- 
cordingly we read of " the /pints of juji me?i made per- 
fect? as well as of " an innumerable company of an- 
" gels§ :" and even thefe brief hints may fufhce to 
fhow, that the fyftem of modern materialiils cannot be 
fupported, (any more than the other doctrines of the 
fame fchool,) except by rejecting the word of God, 
and treating the facred writers as men who efpoufed 
and propagated vulgar errors, whilft they profefTed to 
" fpeak as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft." 

The Scriptures likewife teach us, that both the righ- 
teous and the wicked, immediately on leaving the body, 
enter on a ftate of happinefs or mifery. Lazarus was 
carried, as foon as he died, into Abraham's bofom ; and 
when " the rich man died and was buried, in hell he 
" lifted up his eyes, being in torments ;" whilft his 
brethren, in his father's houfe, were following him to 
the fame ftate of mifery. Should it be urged, that this 
is a parabolical representation ; we anfwer, that He 
who is the Tkuth itfelf would never have fpoken thofe 
things, even in a parable, which have a direct tendency 
to millead the reader, and to raife an expectation of a 
ftate which has no exiftence. But indeed, our Lord 
was pleafed to confirm this inference by his add efs 
from the crofs to the dying thief, " This day fhalt thou 
" be with me in paradife|| ;" which could not have been 
the cafe, unlefs his foul had exifted in a ftate of happi- 
nefs, whilft his body .lay buried with that of the other 
malefactor. They therefore, who deny this diftin£tion 
between foul and body, muft fuppofe our Lord, as well 
as his Apoftles, to have been miftaken. — His anfwer 
likewife to the Sadducees, who cavilled about the doc- 



* 2 Or. v. 8. f 2 Cor. v. 1. \ Lccks. xii. 7. 

§ lieu. xii. 22, 23. || Luke, xvi. 22...31. xxrii. 4: 



356 The State of separate Spirits ; Essay XXV. 

trine of the refurre&ion, is equally decifive againft 
thofe who deny the intermediate fate : for « as God is 
♦'not the God of the dead, but of the living," how- 
can he be the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, if 
they have been wholly dead during fo many revolving 
centuries*? 

The Apoftle " had a defire to depart and to be with 
l< Chrift, as far better" than living on earth; but he 
would not have been any fooner with Chrift for depart- 
ing hence, if he were to lie entirely under the power 
of death until the refurre£Hon •, nor could he " be 
" prefenf nvith the Lord, when abfent from the body" if 
rjever made capable of beholding him till his fecond 
comingf. The fouls of thofe, to whom Chrift, by 
his Spirit in Noah, preached, during the term of God's 
long-fuffering while the ark was preparing, are repre- 
fented as being in prifon at the time when Peter wrote J : 
and John was directed to write, " blefled are the dead, 
u which die in the Lord, from henceforth, even fo 
" faith the Spirit§." Yea, he faw an innumerable com- 
pany before the throne, who were crying for vengeance 
on their perfecutors ; but "were required to wait till the 
reft of their brethren had finiihed their teftimony; 
which, however interpreted, muft precede the refurrec- 
tion of the dead ||. — And here it may be proper to re- 
peat the obfervation, that the God of truth and love 
would not arrange even the circumftances of a vifiort 
infuch a manner, as directly tended in the molt obvious 
interpretation to miilead men in fo material a point. 
Thefe are a fpecimen of thofe fcriptural arguments, by 
which we are induced to expecl: an immediate entrance 
into happinefs, or mifery, as foon as we leave this 
world, by an anticipation of that fentence which will 
be publicly pronounced at the.day of judgment. 

Various absurd notions and curious fpeculations have 
keen formed about this intermediate ftate •, which the 
u fe of the w ord tranflated Hell, for the place of feparate 
fpirits, may have in part occafioned. Thus the Mefliah 



Matt. 2S.,.32. f 2Cor.x.«S. \ 1 Fet. iii. 19. 20. 

Rev. xiv. 13. !j Rev. vi. 9...11. 



Essay XXV. The Resurrection, &c. 357 

by the royal prophet expreffed his confidence in the 
Father, "that he would not leave his foul in he//, 
« neither fuffer his Holy One to fee corruption*." Ma- 
ny learned men, indeed, would explain both thefe ex- 
prefiions to denote the grave, by a very unnatural tau- 
tology : but fcarcely any thing can be more evident, 
than that by He// is meant the p/ace of Jeparate fpirits, to 
which the human foul of Chrift repaired, as foon as 
his body was laid in the grave, till their re-union at his 
glorious refurre£tion. 

The Scripture feems in general only to inform us, 
that the fouls of the righteous, when their earthly taber- 
nacle is taken down, are made perfect in knowledge, 
purity, and love ; being freed from all remains of fin, 
removed from every temptation, made conquerors over 
all their enemies, exempted from all labours, forrows, 
fears, and diftrefTes, and admitted into the prefence of 
Chrift, to behold his glory and enjoy his love : that they 
are qualified to join the rapturous worfliip of angels, 
and to (hare their felicity, in the full completion of all 
their fpiritual defires, in communion with God and in 
the fociety of noly beings : that their joys far exceed all 
that they could on earth conceive or imagine, and are 
fully adequate to their moil: enlarged capacities, though 
proportioned to the degree of their grace and fruitful- 
nefs on earth : that nothing is wanting to the abfolute 
completion of their happinefs, but that re-union with 
their bodies, for which they wait in joyful hope, arTur- 
ed that then " mortality (hall be fwallowed up of life :" 
and that with adoring acclamations, they witnefs the 
Redeemer's triumphs on earth, and the accomplifhment 
of thofe prophecies, for which they fervently prayed 
whilft here they fought the good fight of faith. On 
the other hand, it is manifeft from the fa ere d oracles, 
that the fouls of the wicked, when they leave the body, 
" are driven away in their wickednefs," under condem- 
nation and the wrath of God, and under the power of 
their vile affections now freed from all reftraint; and 
that thus they immediately fink into a ftate of defpair, 



* Psal, xvi. 10. Acts. ii. 27...31. 
H h 



358 The State of separate Spirits ; Ess ay XXV 

and punifhment proportioned to their crimes ; in which 
they will continue till the day of judgment, in dire ex- 
pectation of that event to complete their mifery, by 
reuniting them to their bodies, the inftruments of their 
crimes, and fharers with their fouls in the righteous 
vengeance of their offended Creator. 

After the fouls of fucceflive generations fhall have 
been thus gathered to their own company, and their 
bodies fhall have returned to the ground whence they 
were taken, the end will at length arrive ; when 
Sl the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven with his 
" mighty Angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
" them that know not God, and that obey not the gof- 
'* pel of our Lord Jefus Chrifl ; who (hall be punifhed 
" with everlafting deftru&ion from the prefence of the 
" Lord, and from the glory of his power •, when he 
11 fhall come to be glorified in his faints, and to be 
" admired in all them that believe*." The divine Sa- 
viour will then personally appear in the clouds, even as 
the x^poftles beheld him when he afcended into heavenf . 
" For the Lord himfelf fhall defcend from heaven with 
** a fhout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with 
" the trump of God ; and the dead in Chrift fhall rife 
" firft^." This will be accompanied by the change of 
all fuch believers as fhall then be found alive upon the 
earth§. The refurre&ion of all others, who fhall have 
died from the creation of the world to this grand con- 
fummation of all things, will afterwards take place : 
and then the earth and all its works will be burnt up by 
one general conflagration. No words, however, can 
poffibly explain, illuftrate, or enable the reader to frame 
any adequate conception of, this majeftic, tremendous, 
yet mod delightful fcene ; or the different emotions of 
the righteous and the wicked during this aflonifhing 
cataflrophe. What a fpe£tacle of grandeur and horror 
would the conflagration of one large city prefent, were 
it all at once in flames ! "What then will be the profpe£t 
exhibited to the innumerable fpedtators, when " the 



* 2 Thess. i. 7... 10. f Acts, u. 11, $ 1 Thess. iv. lo..,17< 
§ 1 Cor. xv. 51,. 52. 



Essay XXV. The Resurrection, &fr. 359 

" heavens fhali pafs away with a great noife, and the 
" elements (hall melt with fervent heat ; the earth alfo 
" and all the works that are therein (hall be burnt up*." 
When universal nature (hall, as it were, expire in con- 
vulsions ! when the haughtieft rebels (hall call in vain 
for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them 
from the face of their offended Judge ! and when all 
poffibiiity of efcape or mercy flialJ vanifh for ever ! 

" The hour is then coming, in which all that are in 
" the graves fhali hear the voice of Chrift, and fhali 
" come forth ; they that have done good to the refur- 
" region of life \ and they that have clone evil to the 
•' reiurre.6fcion of damnation-)-." (i The multitudes that 
" fleep in the dud of the earth (hail awake, fome to 
" everlafling life, and fome to (harne and everlafting 
** contempt:}: :" and " there ihall be a refurre£tion both 
(t of the juft and of the uniuft." As the body is a 
part of our nature, and the inftrument of the foul in 
doing good or evil : fo it is meet that it mould be raifed 
from the dead, to (hare the happinefs or mifery, which 
mall be awarded to every one according to his works, 
by the righteous Judge of the world. Little, however, 
is fpoken in Scripture concerning the refurre&ion of 
the wicked, compared with the copious information 
there afforded concerning that of the righteous. By 
the omnipotent word of Him, u who is the Refurrec- 
" tion and the Life," the bodies of his redeemed people 
fhali firft be raifed from the duft of the earth, from 
the depths of the fea, and from every place in which 
they have been depofited ; and being reftored to life, 
incorruptible, immortal and glorious, they will be re- 
united to their immortal fouls, to participate and in- 
creafe their unfpeakable felicity. For " the Lord Jefus 
" fhali change our vile body, that it may be fafhioned 
" like unto his glorious body, according to the work- 
" ing whereby he is able even to fubdue all things to 
« himfelfj." 



* 2 Pet. iii. 10...13. f John, v. 28, 29. J Dan. xii. 2, 
s Phil, iii. 1 20, 21. 



-360 The State of separate Spirits ; Essay XXV. 

We know what appellation the Apoftle beftowed 
on thofe, who, cavilling at his do&rine, enquired 
" how are the dead raifed ? and with what bodies do 
" they come ?" Queftions about identity, and difficul- 
ties ftarted about the poJJibUity of a refurre&ion, may 
anfwer the purpofes of a proud fceptical philofophy : 
but the humble difciple, fitting as a little child at the 
Saviour's feet, will allow « that fuch knowledge is too 
" high for him, he cannot attain unto it ;" and perceive 
that it is meet to anfwer all fuch objections by faying, 
" hath God fpoken, and (hall he not do it ?" « Can 
" any thing be too hard for the Lord ?" We are fure, 
that our bodies will be fo far raifed the fame, that we 
mall know ourfelves to be the fame perfons, who did 
fuch and fuch things on earth : but " as we muft all be 
" changed," our bodies will not be in every refpeEl the 
fame. " There is a natural body, and there is a fpirit- 
(i ual body j" the " image of the firft, and of the 
" fecond Adam :" iS and as we have borne the image of 
fi the earthly, we fhall alfo bear the image of the heaven- 
**ly:" " that which is fown in corruption, difhonour, 
" and weaknefs, mall be raifed in incorruption, glory, 
" and power." " Flefh and blood cannot inherit the 
" kingdom of God ;" but he will give every one his own 
body, even as he gives to every feed an increafe of the 
fame kind that was fown # . When we reflecl: on the 
refplendent appearance of Chrift on the mount of trans- 
figuration ; and further recollect, that the beloved dif- 
ciple, who leaned on his bread at table, fell at his feet 
as dead when he appeared to him in glory ; we (hall find 
our views enlarged, and expect, to receive a body at the 
refurretYion beyond expreflion glorious and beautiful, 
and as much fuperior to thefe bodies of our humiliation 
as the heavens are above the earth. They will be liable, 
to none of the wants, decays, diforders, or grofTnefs, 
of our prefent animal frame : no longer will they re- 
tard our motions, or impede us in contemplation and 
devotion : but they will be fuited to affift and increafe 
the mod fublime and rapturous joys of our immortal 



* 1 Cor. XV* 



Essay XXV. The Resurrection, &$ 361 

fouls to all eternity. And, however it may appear to us 
at prefent, we (hall doubtlefs find therefurre&ion of our 
bodies to be an immenfe acceflion to our happinefs, and 
to our capacity of enjoying and glorifying God. 

Whilit the Scripture ftates the order of the refurrec- 
tion, ^and intimates that the final juftification of believ- 
ers fhall precede the refurre&ion of the wicked, that 
they may be afTefTbrs with Chrift in judging men and 
angels* ; it alfo fpeaks more fully on the grounds of 
their admiflion to the glorious inheritance prepared for 
them, in language which implies that the whole afTem- 
bled world fhall be made acquainted with them. No- 
thing can be more auguft than the defcription given of 
this tremendous day of God. The Apoftle in vifion, 
" faw a great white throne, and Him that fat thereon, 
" from whofe face the heaven and the earth fled away, 
" and there was no place left for themf." No words 
can more emphatically declare the foverign authority, 
and the infinite power, juitice, and holinefs, of the 
Judge. " He faw the dead alfo, both fmall and great, 
" ftand before God ; and the books were opened." 
This declares the difcoveries that will be made, when 
omnifcience (hall " bring to light the hidden things of 
" darknefs, and make manifeft the counfels of all 
" hearts^ ;" the perfeci: recollection, and full convic- 
tion, which every one will then have of all his thoughts, 
words, actions, motives, and intentions, however they 
had previoufly been miftaken or forgotten ; the judg- 
ment to be made of the whole by the perfeci: rule of the 
divine command ; and the final condemnation of all, 
4< whofe names are not found written in the book of 
" life." This likewife implies, that none can abide 
the feverity of that impartial judgment, except thofe 
who are interefted in the new covenant mediated by 
the Son of God : whilft we are taught, by " death 
« and hell being caft into the lake of fire," that all the 
faints will be finally delivered from death, fufFering, 
and every confequence of fin, which will from that 



* 1 C r. vi. J, 3, f Rev. xx. iwl5. 

t Cor. iv. 1„»3, 

H h % 



362 The State of separate Spirits ; Essay XXV. 

period be wholly deftroyed, or rather confined to thofe 
who perifh in their fins. 

The Apoftle Paul declares that " we mud all ap- 
u pear" or be made manifejl in our true charaBer, " before 
" the judgment feat of Chrift ; that every one may re- 
" ceive the things done in his body, according to that he 
f( hath done, whether it be good or bad*." The fame in*, 
terefting truth is exhibited under various parables or fim- 
ilitudes ; " Every tree, that bringeth not forth good fruit, 
" (hall be hev/n down and call into the fire/' the tares 
{hall be feparated from the wheat ; the corn from the 
chaff •, and the man without the wedding garment from 
the welcome guefls. " At the end of the world ; the 
" Angels fhall come forth, and fever the wicked from 
" among the juft, and mail call them into the furnace 
c < of fire •, there fhall be wailing and gnafhing of teethf." 
Indeed all the defcriptions, which are given us of this 
grand event, relate efpecially to the cafe of thofe who 
have the benefit of revelation : but we are exprefsly 
told that " When the Son of Man fhall come in his 
" glory, and all the holy angels with him,: then (hall 
11 he fit upon the throne of his glory ; and before him 
" fhall be gathered all nations, and he fhall feparate 
K them one from another, as a fhepherd divideth his 
" fheep from the goats:]:." This he will do with per- 
feci; eafe, certainty, and impartiality : he will pronounce 
the final fentence with abfolute authority, from which 
there can be no appeal; execute it with a power to 
which all refiftance will be vain ; and difplay the pro- 
priety of it fo clearly as to filence every objection. 
Thefe things are fuited to give us the moil exalted ap- 
prehenfions of the Judge himfelf, who " fhall come in 
** his own glory," as mediator, " and in the glory of 
«« the Father," exercifing all divine perfections through 
the medium of the human nature ; fo that this will be 
(i the appearing of the glory of the great God, and our 
s( Saviour Jefus Chrift§." Then " every eye fhall fee 
" him, and they alfo which pierced him, and all the 



* 2 Cor. v. 10. f Matt. xiii. 41...43, 49, 50. 

| Matt. xxv. 31. ..46. § Tit. ii. 13. 



Essay. XXV. The Resurrection, Wti 363 

« kindreds of the earth fhall wail becaufe of him. 
M Even fo, Amen*." 

But when " the books fhall be opened," it will ap- 
pear that many of thofe, who had been guilty of nu- 
merous and heinous crimes during a great part of their 
lives, had at length truly repented, and believed in 
Chrift with a living faith : " Leing" then " juftified by 
« faith they had peace with God :" <* their fins were 
« caft into the depths of the fea," " never more to be 
" mentioned againft themf ." Their repentance having 
been evidenced by newnefs of life ; their faith having 
worked by love to Chrift, his caufe, and his people ; 
and the Spirit of adoption having fealed them by his 
fan&ifying influences •, a new character was formed in 
them, and their fubfequent good works will evince their 
union with Chrift, fhew their title to the eternal inheri- 
tance, and conftitute the meafure by which their gra- 
cious recompence fhall be afcertained. For, all their 
former fins having been blotted out ; and all the defects, 
defilements, and failures of their fubfequent obedience 
repented of, and walhed away through the daily exercife 
of faith in Chrift, nothing will be found written con- 
cerning them, but the account of the good works 
which they did from evangelical principles and by the 
grace of the Holy Spirit ; whether they have been, 
fpared, to produce thefe good fruits, for a longer or a 
fhorter time. Then all their confcientious felf-denial ; 
their fecret piety and charity; their heavenly meditations 
and affections ; their pure difinterefted motives ; their 
edifying converfe ; their zeal, gratitude, felf-abafement, 
godly forrow, patience, meeknefs, perfeverance in do- 
ing good againft evil, conftancy in the midil of oppo- 
fition ; with all they have renounced, ventured, labour- 
ed, or fuffered for Chrift's fake, will be brought to 
light and made manifeft before men and Angels. Eve- 
ry calumny, and malicious charge of hypocrify, affecta- 
tion, or fpiritual pride will be refuted ; their whole 
conduct will appear in its true light, and it will be un- 
deniably manifeft, that they were the upright worfhip- 
pers and fervants of God, the difciples and friends of 
Chrift, and decidedly on his part in this evil world. 

* Rev.i, 7. Jutie, 14, 15, fEzek. xviii. 22. Micah, vii. 19- 



364 The State of separate Spirits; Essay XXV. 

Then it will be feen, that it " is a righteous thing with 
" God to recompenfe" with his heavenly reft thofe, 
who willingly endured tribulations for his fake, whilft 
they lived among his enemies* : and no one mall be able 
to obje£fc to the decifion of the Judge, when he ihall 
fay, " Come, ye bleiTed of my Father, inherit the 
" kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the 
" world." 

- On the other hand many, who call Chrift Lord, Lord, 
will be expofed as hypocrites, and workers of iniquityf : 
for it wiil then be proved, that their profeffion or 
preaching of the gofpel, attendance on ordinances, and 
outward fervices, fprang from corrupt and feififh mo- 
tives ; that their tranfient convictions and affections 
'never ifTued in an inward change ; that they fecretly 
" loved the wages of unrighteoufnefs," or the pleafures 
o.f fin •, that they were the ilaves of avarice, ambition, 
fenfuality, or malignant paffions ; that they did all their 
works to be feen of men, and were ftrangers to conftant, 
fervent, fecret religion ; that they did not love Chrift 
and his caufe, but were deceived by a dead faith, a 
prefumptuous hope, and a falfe repentance j and that 
they were not interefted in the new covenant, but re- 
mained under the curfe of the law, with the aggravation 
of having alfo abufed and difgraced the gofpel. This 
will be the cafe, not only with thofe, who have fecretly 
committed grofs immoralities, and cloked them with a 
religious profeffion •, but with all, who have not fhewn 
their love to Chrift by a difpofition to love and do good 
to his people for his fake : and whatever they may now 
urge in excufe for their conduct, they will be fijenced 
at laft, and with all other unbelievers be doomed " to 
« depart accurfed into everlafting fire, prepared for the 
*• devil and his angels." 

The feveral fcriptural representations of this decifive 
event concur in eftablifhing thefe conclusions. « They 
« 4 who fin without law mall perifh without law j" they 
that tranfgrefs the law, (having had the benefit of reve- 
lation,) will be judged and condemned according to it ; 
but, if they claim the benefit of the gofpel, their pro- 

* ... 1 ,ess. 1. 4., ...Iz. 

t Matt. vii. 22, 23. xxv. 1....11. Luke, xm. 25....2S. 



Essay XXV. The Resurrection, &V. 365 

fefled faith in Chrift will be tried by its fruits and effects : 
fo that none will eventually ftand in judgment, except 
the true believer who hath fhewn his faith by his works. 
Yet the doom of benighted heathens, however vile their 
conduct hath been, will be far lefs dreadful than that of 
wicked Chriftians : and hypocritical profeflbrs of the 
gofpel will not only be more feverely puniftied, than 
the inhabitants of Tyre and Zidon, but it will even be 
more tolerable for Sodom than for them. 

Let it be here carefully obferved, that very dangerous 
conclufions have been drawn from our Lord's words 
refpecting the day of judgment* : as if humane and be- 
neficent actions of any hind would enfure a man's ac- 
ceptance at that folemii feafon. But every reflecting 
perfon on deliberately examining the pafTage muft per» 
ceive, that nothing will then be favourably noticed, 
which has been done by impenitent defpifers of the 
gofpel, from orientation, or pharifaical pride, or a mere 
inftincYive propenfity ; for this fuppofitlon contradicts 
and difannuls the whole fyftem of Chriftianity. In 
fact, kindnefs to believers the brethren of Chrift, from love 
to his name, truth, caufe, and image, as the genuine 
effect of living faith, is exclufively mentioned in this de- 
scription. No doubt however, but love to our fellow 
finners and enemies, from evangelical motives, will be 
gracioufly accepted : but active, liberal love to true 
Chriftians, whom we are naturally difpofed to fcorn and 
hate, is felected, as the molt unequivocal proof of our 
love to Chrift ; nor can this ever be feparated from other 
inftances of humble obedience, in the habitual tenour 
of our conduct 

It may eafily be conceived whit difcoveries will be 
marde, " when the books (hall be opened," in refpect 
of the different defcriptions of unbelievers ; which will 
fuffice to " flop every mouth," to bring in " the whole 
" world as guilty before God •," and to illuftrate the 
divine juftice in the condemnation of all thofe, who 
fhall then " go away into everlafting punifbment." 
Every one, who ferioufly reflects on his own conduct, 
during the entire courfe of his paft life \ and compares 
his thoughts, words, and works with the holy com- 

* Matt, xxv 35,.„40. 



366 The State of separate Spirits ; Essay XXV. 

mandments of God, will gradually more and more find 
his own heart condemn him : and if this be the cafe- 
with the moft moral of the human race', where will the 
blafphemous, the profligate, the fraudulent, the op- 
prefTor, and the murderer appear ? Whatever may now 
be objected, or whatever excufed, the difcovery of the 
divine glory of the holy and perfect law, of man's obli- 
gations, and of the whole behaviour of every individual, 
towards God and man, will then leave the moil fpecious 
unbelievers fpeechlefs, and make them feel the juftice 
of their own condemnation. 

But what words can exprefs the confequence of this 
definitive fentence ? Or who does not fee that the lan- 
guage of Scripture is felecled to mark out the moll tre- 
mendous effe&s of almighty indignation ? " Thefe fhall 
" go away into everlajling, (or eternal,) 6i punijhment" 
But how can this be, if the perfons thus condemned do 
not exiil for ever in a ftate of punifhment i Or what 
proof have we of the eternity of happinefs intended for 
the righteous, if the fame word in the fame verfe in one 
place do not mean eternal? — We need not enlarge. — If 
the ideas "'of a never dying worm, an inextinguifhable 
" fire." " the blacknefs of darknefs for ever," and 
" the company of the devil and his angels," do not 
" warn men to flee from the wrath to come," none elfe 
" can, for thefe only fail, becaufe they.are not believed. 

On the other hand, " a kingdom that cannot be 
" moved," an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading 
" inheritance," " an exceeding and eternal weight of 
" glory," " pleafures at God's right hand for evermore," 
are expreffions fo energetic that did we trulv believe and 
attend to them, we could not but be influenced by them 
in all our conduct. Here then we paufe— -" Beloved, 
" we know not what we fhall be ; but this we know, 
" that when Jefus fhall appear, we fhall be like him, 
" for we fhall fee him as he is ;" and the countlefs ages 
of eternity will only ferve to enhance our unutterable 
joys. With what words, then, can we more properly 
clofe this EfTav 7 , and the prefent compendious publica- 
tion, than thofe o 1 ' the Apoflle ? " Wherefore, beloved, 
" feeing that ye look for fuch things, be diligent, that 
" ye may be found of him in peace, without fpot, and 
" blamelefs." 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Adoption, a privilege of the be- 
liever, 249- 

Affections, those required. to be 
exercised towards Christ prove 
his Deity, 107. 

Antinomianisrn, whence it springs, 
224 

Arianism, a system repugnant to 
reason, 84. 

Ascension of Christ, ends propos- 
ed by it, 145- 

Assurance of salvation, a distinct 
thing from faith, 245, 246. Not 
enjoyed by all Christians, 247. 
How obtained, 269. 

Atonement, why necessary, 121, 
123, 136. Doctrine of, discus- 
sed, 129, &c. Importance of 
the Doclrine, 142. Day of, 
among the Jews, 147. 

Authority, a valuable talent, how 
to be improved, 316. 

B. 

Baptism, the form of words pre- 
scribed for it implies the Deity 
of Christ and the Holy Spirit, 
108, 199, 343. Not regene- 
ration, 176. What it repre- 
sents, 341, 34a To whom at 
first administered, 343. What 
professions it implies, 343, 344. 
Of infants, its good effects, 346, 
346. 

Believers, their experience, 2}0, 
&c. Their privileges, 243, &c. 
Their dispositions and charac- 
ter, 257, &c. 

Benevolence, tendency of Chris- 
tian principles to promote it, 
275- 

C. 

Candour, a false kind of, 39, 40. 

Charity, perfectly consistent with 
it to consider men's state as 
dangerous, 76, 77, r.05. 



Charms, unlawful, 54. 

Children, their duties to their 
parents, 61, 298. Necessity of 
correcting them when young, 
301. 

Christ, evidence of his resurrec 
tion, 15. His character, as de- 
lineated by the Evangelists- per- 
fect, 2, 22. His Deity, proofs 
of, 83, &c. Importance of that 
doctrine, 101, &c. His fitness 
for sustaining the office of Me- 
diator, 125. Made an atone- 
ment, by his death, 143, 144, 
Cannot be received in one of his 
characters while rejected in 
another, 156. His mediatorial 
kingdom, 116, 152 — 154. 

Christian, life of, represented in 
Scripture as a warfare, 230^ 
See Believers. 

Circumcision, what intended by 
it, 341. 

Communion, with God, a pri- 
vilege of the believer, 253. 

Contentment, produced by Chris- 
tian principles, 26 . 

Conversion, the change intended 
thereby, 179, 211, — 213. 

Conviction of sin, arises from right 
views of the divine law, 220. 

Correction, of Children, necessary, 
301. Directions concerning, 
301, 302. 



Death, its different aspects on 
the righteous and the wicked. 
78, 79. 244. 

Declension of religion, greatly 
owing to the neglect of the 
influences of the Holy Spirit, 
216. 

Deity of Christ, proofs of, 83, 
&c. Importance of the Doc- 
trine, 101. &c. Objections to 
it considered, 114. 



INDEX. 



Depravity of human nature, 72, 
73, 234. .. 

Divorces, when lawful, 291 — 293. 

Duelling, 62. 

Duties, reciprocal of husbands and 
wives, 290 — 29^. Of parents 
and children, 298 — 307. Of 
masters and servants, 307 — 

3*3- 

E. 

Education, some directions con- 
. cerning, 301, 303, 305, 

Enemies, with which the Chris- 
tian has to contend 232. Con- 
duct towards them enjoined by 
Christianity, 282. 

Enthusiasm. 178, 203, 204. 

Eternity, of the future punish- 
ment of the wicked, 76, 366. 
See Future state. 

Experience of the true Christian, 
230. 

F. 

Faculties, no new ones communi- 
cated in regeneration, 179 

Faith, that required to be placed 
in Christ implies his Deity, 107 
The effect of regeneration, 163. 
Importance given to it in the 
Scripture, 164. Nature of true, 
considered^ 165. Not mere as- 
sent 166. In what sense it 
justifies , 170, 171. Objections 
to the doctrine of justification 
by, answered, 172, 173. Pro- 
duced by a divine influence on 
the mind, 174. Distinct from 
assurance of salvation, 246. 

Fear, of God, essential to true 
religion, 365. 

Fksh, meaning of the term as 
used in Scripture in opposition 
to the spirit, 234. 

Forgiveness, of sin a privilege of 
every believer, 244. Of inju- 
ries, a duty, 281. 

Fortune-teliing, unlawful, 54. 

Frugality, a duty, 280. 

Future state, 75. Known only by 
Revelation, t>53' I ts nature, 
357- 

G, 

Gaming, evil of, 69. 

God, proper views of his charac- 
ter can be obtained only from 



the Scriptures, 19. Importance 

of these views, 38 — 42. Those 

views stated, 44 — 49. 
Gifts, of the Spirit, miraculous, 

204 — 208. Not miraculous, 

208 — 210. 

H. 
• Harmony, of the sacred writers, 

12, 13. 
" Heart, a new," what meant by, 

184. 
Heaven, its felicity consists much 

in the presence of Christ, 112, 

"3- 
Heretics, their general character, 

210. 
Husbands their duties. See Du- 

ties. 

Humility, by what produced and 
maintained, 220, 232, 2j8 — 
26a. 

I 

Idolatry, > evil of, 38. Its origin, 
and effects, 40. 

Images, use of in religious wor- 
ship considered, 55. 

Incarnation of Christ, reasons of. 

Indifference, to religious truth, its 
prevalence and pernicious ef- 
fects, 101. 

Influence, over others, how it 
should be used, 316. 

Influences, of the Holy Spirit, 
miraculous, 204. Have ceased, 
their design being answered, 
206. Wicked men have been 
subjects of them, 207. Ordi- 
nary, 209. Convincing, 211, 
212. Sanctifying and comfort-* 
ing, aii, 216. 

Injuries, a patient and forgiving 
spirit under them inculcated by 
Christianity, 281. 

Inspiration, of the Scriptures how 
to be understood, 10, 11. Proofs 
of, 11—25. 

Intercession of Christ, 150. 

J- . 

James, Ap. his doctrine respecting 

faith and works, 163, 164. 
Jesus. See Christ. 
Judgment, day of, 359. 
Justification, meaning of the term, 
'158, Differs from pardon ,159, 



I N D 

161. By faith alone, 79, 160, 
167. How to be obtained? 
importance of the enquiry, 173. 
The privilege of every believer, 

»44> 

L. 

Lamb, why Christ is called so, 

141. 
Law, moral, its spirituality, 51. 
An exposition of it, 52, S3- & c< 
" Curseof," what meant by, 7a. 
The moral, intended, where it 
is declared that ? by the works 
of the law no flesh shall be jus- 
tified," &c. 1 6 2. A mitigated, 
erroneous notions respecting, ■ 
165. Moral, immutable, 218. \ 
Its uses in subserviency to the j 
Gospel, 219, &c. ' Dead to the \ 
" latv" what meant by the ex- ! 
pression, 219. Cannot justify, 
7t, 219. Bad effects which flow 
from want of acquaintance with 
it, 225, &c. 1 

Liberality, duty of, 280. 

Lord's supper, a proof of the doc- 
trine of an atonement, 142. Its 
institution, 347. What profes- 
sions are made by receiving it, 
349. Preparation for it, 350. 
Benefits of frequently receiving 
it, 351. To receive it a duty 
incumbent on Christians, 352. 

Lotteries, evil of, 69. 

Love, to God, what it implies, 
S3* 266. That required by 
Christ, 267. Implies his Dei- 
ty, 109. Of mankind, promot- 
ed by Christian principles, 275. 
" Of the brethren," 276. 
M. 

Man, his state in the present 
world, 70. 

Marriage, 64. Institution of, 290. 
Necessity of some form for its 
solemnization, 292 By what 
dissolved, 291 — 293. How it 
should be entered into, 293. 

Masters, their duties to servants, 
307. 

Mediator, office and qualifications 
of one considered, 117. Need 
for one between God and man, 



E X. 

120 — 122. Christ alone capa- 
ble of sustaining the office, 123. 

Mediatorial kingdom of Christ, 
116, i$i. 

Melchizerdek, a. type of Christ, 
146. 

Messiah, whence the name is de- 
rived, 205. 

Ministers, duties of, 323. 

Miracles, evidence for them, in fa- 
vour of Revelation, 14. Even 
those of Christ, ascribed to the 
agency of the Holy Spirit, 204. 
205. Have ceased, the design 
being answered, 206, 207. 

Moses, his writings divinely in- 
spired, 14, 18, 19. 

Mysteries, no objection to Reve- 
lation, 20. 

O. 

1 Obedience sincere,' an abused 
term. 165. 

Objections to the doctrine of 
Christ's Deity, considered, 114. 
P. 

Pardon, of sin, differs from justifi- 
cation, 159 — 161. 

Parents, duties of, 230. 
Perfection, not attainable in this 
life, 228, 236. 

Perjury, 57. 

Perseverance, final, of believers, 

Person, meaning the term as ap- 
plied to the Deity 189, 190. 

Philanthropy, tendency of Chris- 
tianity to promote it, 275. 

Polygamy, unlawful, 291 — 293. 

Prayer, a duty. 327 — 329. What 
it implies, 328. Reason why 
men are so averse to it, 330. 
Accepted only through Christ, 
149,151,331. Encouragements 
to, 332. Efficacy of, 33s Need 
of divine assistances for, 215, 

330> 339- 
Priest. High, of the Jews, a type 

of Christ, 148. 
Priestly office of Christ, 147. 
Privileges, of true Christians, 243, 
Prophetic office of Christ, 155. 
Punishment, future, of the wicked, 



INDEX. 



eternal, 75, 366. Justice of it. 
77- 
Purgatory, doctrine of, contrary 
to Scripture, if. 
R. 
Regeneration, precedes the exer- 
cise of faith, 163. Doctrine of, 
considered, 174, &c. What 
meant by, 176 Does not com- 
municate new faculties, 179. 
Religion, natural 25. 
Repentance, cannot compensate 

for transgression, 71, 72. 
Resignation, a Christian virtue, 

263. 
Resurrection, of Christ, evidence 
of, 15. Ends of it, 145. Gen- 
eral, 358. 

Revelation, alone can discover to 
us true religion, 9. Compara- 
tive importance of its different 
parts, 29, 30. Design of, 268. 
Rulers, duties of, 316 — 320. 

S. 
Sabbath, obligation of, 59. How- 
it should be observed, 60. 
Sacrament. See Baptism and Lord's 
Supper. Meaning of the word, 
340. Nature of one, 340. 
Sacrifices, derived their origin 
from Revelation, 129. Jewish, 
typical of the atonement of 
Christ, 130. Why they could 
not take away sin, 134. 
Scriptures, the, divinely inspired, 
12 — 24. Their tendency, 20. 
Duty of studying them, 31 — ■ 
t 33. Directions for the study of 
them, 33. The only standard 
of theological truth, 103, 104. 
Self-denial, duty of, 258, 261. 
Self-righteousness, meanin . of the 
term, %i<). Destroyed by ac- 
quaintance with the divine law, 
226. 
Servants, directions to, 60, 307. 
Sin, original, 72. Evil of, 78. 
Slave trade, 62. 

Socinians, their interpretation of 
some passages of Scripture. 97 
— 100. Their views of the im- 
portance of their sentiments, 
changed of late, 101. 102. 



Their principles tend to infidek 
ity, 107. Some of their argu- 
ments answered, 114. 
Soul, immortality of, 75, 76, 354, 
Does not sleep from death till 
the resurrection, 354. Immate- 
rial, 355. 
Spirituality, produced by Chris- 
tian principles, 367. 
Suicide, 63. 
Swearing, 58. 

Spirits, evil, doctrine of Scripture 
respecting, 236, 237. 
T. 
Talents, duty of improving them, 

314. 
Tempers, produced by Christian 

principles, 257. 
Terms, necessary to use some not 
found in Scripture, concerning 
certain doctrines, 190, 191. 
Time, duty, of improving, 326. 
Tontines, 69. 

Tradition, of the church, its 
weight with regard to the di- 
vine inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures, 12. 
Trinity, Doctrine of 198. Its 
great importance, 201. Objec- 
jections to it considered. 114. 
Trust, in God, the privilege and 
duty of the believer, 251, 252. 
Truth, strict regard which should 
be paid to it, 279. 
U. 
Unbelief, why so severely con- 
demned in Scripture, 104, 105. 
W. 
Water, what meant by being "born 

" of ivater," 175- 
Wealth an important talent, how 
r^to be improved, 324-- 
Wives, duties of. 295. 
World, vanity, of its pursuits 
compared with the concerns of 
eternity, 80, 81, 270. Indif- 
ference to it, a Christian virtue, 

270. How to be obtained, 

271, 272. 

Worship, of Christ, idolatry, un- 
less he be God, 101, 107 — 109. 
Paid to Christ in heaven, 113, 
114. - 



IN W. W. WOODWARD'S PRESS, AND FOR SALE. 
SCOTT'S COMMENTARY, 

On the OH and New Testaments. Consisting of copious marginal 
references, with notes and practical observations....in 4 large 
4to. vols....To subscribers for 4 vols, price [6 dollars per vol. 
bound....in boards 5 dols. 25 cts....calf 7 dols....price shortly to 
be raised. Two vols, published, and the 3d in the press. One 
copy given to every 9. 

Proposals are issued to print an extra number of SCOTT'S COM- 
MENTARY on the NEW TESTAMENT, independent of 
the OLD TESTAMENT, to accommodate those who do not 
find it convenient to take the whole of that excellent Commen- 
tary....at 7 doll *s....to. be raised to eight to non-subscribers 
when finished.,., une copy given for every Nvrie subscribed for or 
sold. 

0* The recommendations are numerous, but would occupy too 

*" much time and room to publish them, 

POCKET BIBLE. 

W. W. W. has just published a neat edition of the Pocket Bible, 
on a beautiful new type imported for the purpose....Neat plain 
binding, containing the Psalms, 1 37 1-2 cents, without the 
Psalms, 1 25 cents. Morocco, and superior paper, with Psalms, 
2 50 cts. without Psalms, 2 25cts....One copv to every five. 

ORIENTAL CUSTOMS; or, an illustration' of the Sacred Scrip- 
tures, or an Explanatory application of the customs and man- 
ners of the eastern nations, and especially the Jews therein al- 
luded to. Together with observations on many difficult and ob- 
scure Texts, collected from the most celebrated travellers, and 
the most eminent critics....by Samuel Burder. dolls. 2. 

Just Published, VILLAGE DIALOGUES, in two neat volumes, 
by the eminently Pious, and Rev. Rowland Hill, of London 
....Price 2 dollars. One copy to everv 5. 

BAXTERS MISCELLANIES, containing, Call to the Uncon- 
verted, Walks in Solitude, and Dying Thoughts, all in one neat 
duodecimo volume of about 390 pages....For one dollar. One 
copy to every Five. 

BIGLAND'S LETTERS, on the Study of History, are finished: 
Printed in one handsome Octavo volume, ot about 540 pages. 
fine paper.., .neatly bound for 2 doliars.,..For every Five sub- 
scribed or purchased, a bixth copy will be given. 

PILGRIM'-, PROGRESS, with explanatory notes by George 
Burder, Author of Village Sermons, dai. 1, without notes 75 cts. 

HOLY WAR by Bunyan, neat engravings, good paper, bound 
and lettered, dol. 1. 

WATT'S PSALMS AND HYMNS....Neat plain binding, 75 cents 
....Fine paper, 1 dollar, and hands' >me morocco binding, 175 
cents... -One copy given for every Five purchased. 

Philosophical and Critical enquiries, concerning Christianity, by 
Charles Bonnett, of Geneva, F. R. S. Memoer of the Royal 
Academy ot Sciences at Paris, See. dol. 1 

Buchan's family physician, 2 

Feauties of the Spectator, 2 vols. 2 25 

Village Sermons, 2 vols. 2 

Frown's science of life, in boards 87 1-2 

Cruden's complete Concordance to the Old and New Testaments 
and Apocrypha 10 



FOR SALE, AT'W. W. WOODWARD'S STORE. 

Cole's practical discourses on God's sovereignty. 1 

Cardiphonia : or the utteraace of the heart in the course of a real 

correspondence, 2 vols, by J. Newton. dols. 1 60 

Confession of faith ; the larger and shorter catechisms, with the 

scripture proofs at large, American edition dolls. 1 

Cases of conscience, by Pike and Hay ward 1 

Christ's eternal godhead.... a proof of the true and eternal godhead 
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; against modern attacks....By Dyonis- 
shisvan de Wynfiersse, 1). D. professor of Philosophy, Mathe- 
matics, and Astronomy,, at Leyden.... Which gained the high- 
est prize of the Hague Society , for the defence of Christianity, 
1792. 50 Cts. 

Davis's Sermon's, 2 vols. dolls. 4 

Doddridge's Sermons to young persons* 50 do. 

.,..Rise and progress of religion in the soul. 88 Cts. 

....On the Religious education of children. 50 Cts. 

....Practical discourses on regeneration 87 1-2 

....Family expositor, 6 vols. dolls. 17 

Divinity of Christ asserted and proved, and the connection of this 
doctrine with practical religion pointed out by Sinclair Kei- 
burn. t 62 1-2 cents. 

Dodi on death 75 cents. 

\ ' NOW IN THE PRESS. 

ADAM's LECTURES on natural and experimental Philosophy, 
considered in its present state of improvement, describing in' a 
familiar and easy manner, the principal phenomena of nature, 
and shewing that they all co-operate in displaying the goodness, 
wisdom, and power of God. 

Revised, corrected and considerably enlarged, by Robert Pat- 
terson, Professor of Mathematics, and (pro. tern.) Teacher 
oftNatural Philosophy in the University of Pennsylvania. 

GENERAL CONTENTS. 

Vol. I. Method of reasoning, and rules of philosophizing. Nature 
and properties of air, its resistance, weight, pressure, elasticity, 
rarefaction, condensation. The atmosphere — its height — theories 
respecting it — meteors. Of hypotheses in general. Smoky chimnies. 
Barometer. Common ai.i forcing pumps. Syphon. Air-pumps. 
On chimney fire-places from Count Rumford. Of sound in general. 
Echoes — Musical sounds. Nature and properties of Jire. Fire a 
real material substance — its penetration — tendency to an equilibrium. 
Of pyrometers — expansion of metals, &c. by heat. Of cohesion. 
Of heat and cold — sensible and latent heat. Thermometers/ Ef- 
fects of fire or heat — evaporation, ebullition, steam, ignition, com- 
bustion, flame. Of phlogiston. Firing of gun-powder. Of solu- 
tion — odours — fermentation — effervescence. Methods of exciting 
and augmenting the action of fire, Theory of animal heat. Nature 
and properties of elastic fluids. Different species of airs or gases 
— vital — azotic— nitrous— carbonic acid— inflammable— hepatic— phos- 
phoric, &c. &c. 

Vol. IT, Of the nature and properties of water — its composition and 
decomposition — presence in the atmosphere — mixed and combined 
with bodies — origin of springs and rivers — the saltness of the sea. 
Of ice. Artificial cold — vapour — mineral waters — methods -of ana- 
Jizing-chemical tests — re-agents — fluxes. Interesting and amusing 



PROPOSALS FOR ADAM'S LECTURES. 

experiments. Of optics — force and intensity of light — .refraction 
— glass lenses, their foci, &c — scioptic ball — magic lanthorn, &c. 
Of Catoptrics — plane, concave, and convex mirrors — their foci and 
other general properties. Simple and reflecting camera obscura. 
A variety of entertaining optical experiments. Of vision — descrip- 
tion of the eye. Of colours. Of the rainbow. Separation of the 
rays of light. Of phosphoric bodies. Of telescopes — Refracting — Ga- 
lilean — astronomical — achromatic. Reflecting — Gregorian — New- 
tonian. Of tniscr'jscopes — single — compound — solar. Latest im- 
provements in telescopes. 

Vol. III. Of the nature and properties of matter — inertia — gravity 
— attraction — repulsion. Opinions of the ancients respecting matter. 
Of mechanics. Motion — its different species and laws. Of the centre 
of gravity. Of projectiles — pendulums — time. — Communication of mo- 
tion by collision. Of the mechanical powers — lever — balance — wheel 
and axis — pulley — inclined plane — wedge — screws. Application of 
mechanic powers — compound engines, &c. Of Friction — Wheel 
carriages. Of hydrostatics. Of hydraulics. Of astronomy, 

Vol. IV. Of the Copernican system. Tables of the magnitudes, posi- 
tions, &c. of the various bodies in the solar system. Explanation of 
the motions; and other phenomena in the solar system. Of eclipses 
....parallax and refraction. ...solar and siderial time. Description and 
Use of the planetarium.. ..orrery... .artificial globes.. ..universal sun- 
dial, &c. Of the fixed stars and comets. Of physical astronomy. 
Of electricity. Of magnetism: Of meteorology.. ..rain. ...hail. ...thunder.... 
winds....aurora boreaiis, &c. with a description of various meteorologi- 
cal instruments. 

.^jp To the volume of plates, in this edition will be prefixed a copious 
alphabetical index; together with a compendious system of natural 
philosophy, in the form of aphorisms ; which, it is presumed, will be 
of use, especially in seminaries where this science is taught, both to 
the teacher and student. 

TERMS. 

J: The tvork is printing on a neat pica type, on a fair paper, medium size, 
equal to the London edition in 4 vols, large octavo, and one volume of 
plates, — about 30 in all. 

II. To subscribers, the <work, neatly bound and lettered, ivill be II Dolls. 
50 cents. 

III. No money ivill be required until ttvo volumes are ready for delivery ; 
ivhen the ivhole must be paid in advance. 

IV. If any shall remain not subscribed for or unpaid, until the ivhole tvork 
shall have been published three months, the price ivill be considerably ad- 
vanced. 

V. Those ivho obtain J subscribers, and ivho shall be punclual in payment, 
shall be entitled to the eighth copy, gratis. 

VI. A list of the subscribers' names, ivith their professions and titles, ivill be 
printed in the last volume. 

Proposals are ready for any persons who are disposed to take in 
subscribers. 

^T Those gentlemen who wish to patronize, and be in possession of 
this excellent work, will please to apply personally, or by letter 
post-paid ; when they will be furnished with proposals for the pur- 
pose of obtaining subscriptions. 



FOR SALE, AT W. W. WOODWARD'S STORE. 

Addison's E\ idences of the Christian religion 75 

Aspasio vindicated, and the scripture doctrine of imputed righ- 
teousness defended 80 
Apjborisms on faith 10 
Burkitt's Expository notes on the New Testament, folio 8, 25 
Brown's Christian Journal. 80 
Catechism 80 
Introduction to the right understanding of the oracles of 
God. 62 1-2 
Booth's Reign of grace 87 1-2 
Glad tidings to perishing sinners 75 
Abbadie on the divinity of Christ 1 
Beattie's Evidences of the Christian religion. 50 
Beattie's elements of moral science*, 2 vols. 2 
Dickinson's letters. 871-2 
Erskine's sermons on the most important subjects 1 
Edward's on redemption 2 
On the religious affections. 1 
On the creation of the world and on virtue 62 1-2 
Miss Hannah Moore's...,...reiigion of the fashionable world, 37 1-2 
Buchanan's Psalms of David, Latin, j 50 
Beauties of tiie Spectator, 2 vols. 2 25 
Missionary Sermons 1 
Method with the Deists 6 
Newton's Works, 9 vols* 7 50 
Newton on the Prophecies, 8vo, 2 50 
Scott's Universal Gazetteer, 4 vols. 10 
SONG OF SONGS, which is Solomon's. A new translation with 
a Commentary and Notes, by THOMAS WILLIAMS, London, 
Author of the Age. of Infidelity, &c. neat Octavo, 1 75 cts. 
WITHERSPOON's WORKS 2d edit, in 4 vol. dolls. 8 50 cts. 
BEAUTIES of the EVANGELICAL M AGAZJNE j in two neat 
octavo volumes... .This work is selected from nine volumes of 
that excellent work, now publishing in London, for the benefit of 
poor widows oi Gospel Ministers, dolls. 4 25. cts. 
Brooks' Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, 62 1-2 cts. 
Watts on the World to come, 1 12 1-2 
Watson's Divine Art of Contentment, 75 
Analytical Compendium or Outlines of Sermons, extracted from 

various authors....by T. Hannum, 
Encyclopedia, Sec. in boards 
Do. in sheep, lettered. ■-, , 

Do. in call. n^P * " 

Do. in do. gilt, UuW ■*; 

Do. in Russia. 
Do. in Russia gilt. 
Supplement to do. to complete sets of the original 

work, 3 vols, boards. 
Elegant Extracts in-prose, 2 vols.- calf gilt, 
Fisher's and Erskine's Catechism. 
Force of Truth, by Scott. 62 1-2 

Wiiberforce's vie w s of the Christian Religion. 1 

Fuller's Leueis, in which the Caivinistick and 
Sociiiiaii systems are examined and compared as to 
their moral tendency* - - - - 1 

Gospel Its ovvn witness 1 

Gospel worthy of ali acception. 1 



87 1-2 


156 


187 50 


208 50 


219 


240 


250 


21 


5 50 


1 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberrv Township. PA 16066 



